Deep, Deep Waters
by hippielicious
Summary: Three people were found in the desert near the rebellion's hideout. When the first of the three wakes up, Doc is surprised to learn that there is a human alive, that doesn't have a soul in them, with the silvery, reflective eyes.
1. Chapter 1

Why had we come to this desert? Why? Now we were all going to die. I wished I had never brought Fords with me. He deserved better than that. He deserved better than me. I allowed myself to drift into unconsciousness and allowed the memories that were sure to follow.

I felt gentle hands feeling my body and distant faraway voices shouting.

**Doc's P.O.V.**

They brought them in. The souls and the human woman. Was this another situation where souls and humans were living together peacefully? Only time would tell. I was examining her when she began to murmur something.

"Fords," she rasped. She really needed water. All three of them did. "So stupid. Why did we think we could run away from this?" She was talking to someone. One of her companions? "I love you Fords," she whispered before she went silent again.

Later, after they were in slightly better condition, the girl began to murmur incoherently. I was at her side in an instant. "I'm here. Who are you? Who are they? What were you running away from?" She didn't seem to hear me.

"I can't believe we're alive Fords." She smiled at me as she said this. I assumed that 'Fords' was one of her traveling partners. "Is Felix okay too?" she asked.

If my patient needed me to be Fords for a while, then I would damn well be Fords. "Yeah," I whispered. "Felix is fine." Her eyes opened almost all the way and her eyes were sparkling. No. Shimmering. They were silvery and reflective. Soul eyes. But I had checked her neck, there was no small pink line going down it.

"Well now, this is just interesting," said a familiar voice that had suddenly appeared next to me. Jeb had arrived.

() () () ()

"You sure that there was no scar on her neck when you checked Doc?" Jeb asked me for the thousandth time.

"Yes I'm sure."

"So which one of these lucky guys are Fords do you think? She did say 'I love you _Fords'_ right?"

"Yes, she did say that but I have no clue who Fords is."

"They all gonna be okay?"

"They should be."

"Where the hell am I?" asked a feminine voice behind us. I whipped my head around to see the dark-haired and tan woman looking at us with suspicion.

"Nice to know that you can finally tell we're strangers," replied Jeb cheerfully.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Earlier you – um – thought I was someone called 'Fords'," I answered.

Her eyes narrowed, then widened with surprise. "Where is Fords? What have you done with him?" she shouted angrily. If this woman was a soul that wasn't a seeker, then I was Babe Ruth. "Felix too," she added as an afterthought.

"Who are Fords and Felix?" asked Jeb all too innocently.

"Figure it out genius," she replied sarcastically.

"Jeb," I said. "Please do not antagonize my patient more than necessary.

"Where are they," she demanded. I pointed to her companions' cots, which were across from her own. She immediately hopped out of her cot, to my horror, and stumbled over to the redheaded man. It was only now that I began to wonder if I should have taken the souls out of the human bodies like I did. But, there was no time for me to question my judgment now because this ever-suspicious woman was already pulling up the eyelids of the redhead to find that they were no longer silvery and reflective. "Where is Fords? What have you done with him?"

"Fords is right there," answered Sharon. She had come in at the worst possible time as she pointed at the man with red hair.

"No!" shouted the woman. "This is Fords's host. I want to know where Fords is."

"You're interested in the souls and not the humans whom they occupy?" I asked. She nodded vigorously. I pointed to the cryo-tanks in the corner of the room. Two contained the souls that occupied the bodies of the men she had been traveling with. She stumbled over as best she could with an extremely determined look on her face. But, when she got over there, she paused.

"Umm," she whispered quietly and seemingly embarrassed. "Which one is Fords?" She sure seemed more worried about this Fords person than Felix.

"The one on the right," I answered kindly. She nodded, calming down, and slowly made her way back to her bed, cradling the soul all the way there.

"What about the other one," asked Ian. Many more of the people who live here had made their way into the hospital – curious, no doubt, about the small band of people who had somehow found their way through the desert.

"I don't really know much about that soul. When it was put into Felix, Felix easily overcame it with his willpower. The soul was still quite aware, and capable of communicating to Felix inside his head, but the soul had no control over it's host. So, I didn't know it, but when Felix wakes up, he is in charge of it. No one else is allowed to touch that cryo-tank."

"Umm do you mind if I …" I trailed off as I reached for the tank she held.

"No!" she screamed, and quickly pulled the tank out of my reach, realizing my intentions of taking it away from her.

"Kyle," I sighed, and the large man began to walk over.

"That's not fair," she shouted. "They get to stay." We all turned out heads simultaneously to see who she was pointing at and, unsurprisingly, it was Wanda and Sunny. Tears began to leak down the stranger's eyes as she became more and more distressed over this. This wasn't good for her. She needed to calm down and rest so she could heal. Everyone began shouting at once and that's when Ian stepped in.

"What's your name?" he asked kindly.

She eyed him suspiciously before saying "Alexandria."


	2. Chapter 2

"Well Alexandria, why don't you want us to take Fords from you?" asked Ian.

"He's my partner. I won't let you hurt him, or any other soul for that matter."

"We never hurt any of the souls that we take from civilization. We simply send them to another world."

"That's just as bad," Alexandria said, through tears. As she said this, her grip on the cryo-tank only tightened.

"Can't we just discuss this?" I asked.

"There's nothing to discuss. Fords is staying with me." Her voice became a low and protective growl by the end of the last sentence.

"We can always decide later," suggested Jared. "I'm in no hurry to go on a raid. And while we're waiting, I see no harm in having Alexandria in charge of Fords there." He nodded towards the cryo-tank that was in use. "How does that sound?"

"It seems I have no other options," she sighed.

"Now," I announced. "Will you please go back to sleep Alexandria?"

"No way!" she cried. "am I about to leave Fords vulnerable to attack!"

"Well, now that's true, but we could have already taken him from you couldn't we?" asked Jeb. "Now, Alex, if you're going to be livin here, you're going to have to start trusting folks."

"I trust you with my life, not with his. I know humans are mad at the souls, and rightfully so, but Fords isn't the one who took over your planet, he's just living on it. He's obviously more sympathetic towards humans, because if he wasn't, I would currently have a soul inside of me."

"What are you, Shakespeare or something?" laughed Jeb.

"I _was_ getting a degree in journalism until recently," she answered.

"Okay," I sighed. "You don't have to sleep, Alexandria, but you _do_ have to rest and that means everyone_ out._" Finally, as the last person left, someone was listening to me. "Now," I told her. "I'm just going over there to check your vital signs. Okay?" She nodded slowly.

All her vitals were improving and she cooperated nicely when it was just me in the room. Maybe she figured she stood a chance in a fight with me. And, to be honest, were she currently in better health, she probably could. I gave her some food to eat, but she just looked at it, then ignored it. I decided not to pry on that subject but…

"Um, not to pry or anything, but your eyes…"

"Oh! I expected that question a long time ago. I'm not a soul, just look at my neck."

"I know you're not a soul, Alexandria, I already checked your neck. I'm just curious is all. Your eyes will wreak havoc once everyone here knows about them. They will probably come up with some conspiracy theory about souls becoming craftier and hiding their scars from us." I laughed easily, then looked at her pointedly.

"Have you lifted Felix's eyelids?"

"No."

"If you do, then you'll notice that they are the same. We both got the genetic jackpot with this genetic mutation. It is because of this mutation that we were both able to survive among the souls without being discovered. Fords was the only one who figured it out. Aside from when Felix was captured, of course. " She sighed. "I always knew he was smarter than all the other souls. More observant."

"Two different people have this mutation?"

"Well, we're related. He's my older brother. That's the reason I show no particular interest in the soul who used to occupy his body. I'm happy that he will no longer need to fight every day to keep control."

"Do you mind if I ask another question?"

"Shoot."

"It's rather personal."

"If I don't want to answer it I'll just tell you. No need to worry about offending me. Unless, of course, your going to call souls centipedes or parasites – now that will offend me. But, otherwise, I'm usually pretty easygoing."

"Except when it comes to Fords of course," I said.

"Yes, except when it comes to Fords… So, what's your question?"

"What's it like being a partner to a soul while you are human?" I asked. I had always been curious, but too nervous to ask anyone else. She chose her words carefully before answering.

"It's… difficult to say the least. There are countless numbers of… obstacles… to overcome in that kind of partnership that aren't present in an all-human partnership. Those obstacles, along with normal problems that you would experience with a human partner, add up to more stress than the average relationship. Like when he found out that I was human. That was one of the hardest times we had to go through in our relationship, but when it was over, we were closer than ever. Once I communicated how I believed most humans were currently living, he became even more sympathetic to the human cause, and then, he trusted me. Plus, another problem is, souls don't react the same way a human would to something. Sometimes, their reactions may be much worse than you expected." Her face fell at that and I knew that they might currently be arguing over something. "We're still figuring things out. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you have a partner…um…Doc?"

"Yes her name is Sharon." I quickly described Sharon.

"Really? You two… don't seem very alike."

"We're not, but we work well together. By the way, let me apologize in advance for anything mean she might do to you. She doesn't take well to your kind of relationship."

"The way I see it, it's the relationship of the future and a good start to the human race getting back on its feet. Humans and souls need to start interacting with each other if our race is to begin to recover." I nodded. It made total sense to me.

**Author's Note: Okay, so I got my first review today, one day after I first published this story, and I am thinking positively. I am currently working on more than one fanfiction right now, so those of you who want to see more of Alexandria should review. Because, the fanfictions that get the most reviews, story alerts,and so on, get updated faster. hippielicious**


	3. Chapter 3

Alexandria had fallen asleep, though, she still clung to the cryo-tank. And, for the life of me, I didn't have the heart to take it from her – not after our conversation earlier.

I walked over to the other patients and decided to talk to Felix. I definitely did not want to talk to Fords. Alexandria didn't care about the human who had once used that body. All she cared about was Fords. Maybe we could find a new body for him if this one woke up.

"Felix, wake up. Felix, Alexandria really needs you right now. She needs her brother." He made some movements and groaned: a response. Then, he sat up.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"My name's Doc."

"Where's Alex?"

"Over there." I pointed to the sleeping woman curled up on the cot.

"Is everything okay with her," he asked.

"As far as I know. Except…"

"Except what?" Now he sounded extremely edgy and suspicious.

"She's very worried about Fords. He's in the cryo-tank that she has now."

"Yeah, that's something she would get upset about," he mused. The thought of her getting upset seemed to amuse him a little.

"What do you want to do with your old host? Alexandria said that it should be your choice, so what do you think would be best for him?"

"Oh, Moony? Well, he used to live on the bat planet, but he didn't really like it there, so I think…you should send him to the dragons. Yeah. He'll like it there well enough. At least he'll have complete control there. Ha." It was only now that I noticed how big a guy that Felix was. He was almost as big as Kyle or Ian, and had a voice that was really deep and throaty. And, again, now I could see the similarities between him and Alexandria: the same nose, the same olive skin, and similar hair. The only thing that was really different was their eyes. While both sets had that silvery reflectivness to them, Felix had brown eyes and Alex had green eyes.

"Felix? Oh, hey, you're up. I knew you'd be okay," Alexandria said behind us. She had woken up, and that was when Jeb came in.

"Hi Felix. It's mighty nice to finally get to meet you. I'm Jeb and this is the resistance. It ain't much, but we try to keep it in working order and if you're going to live here, then you're going to have to help. That means doin' some work. So, as soon as Doc here gives you the okay, I'm going to give you and Alexandria the grand tour of our humble abode – "

"I'm not leaving," Alexandria said.

"Huh?" Jeb asked. Felix grunted in surprise and all I could do was stare.

"I'm not leaving," she repeated.

"Now, why not?"

"I am not toting Fords around, and I am not doing anything until Fords is back in his body. I'll drink water, but that is it and I'm only doing that because I know Doc would be beside himself in pain if I didn't."

Jeb snorted. "You're being ridiculous."

"Really? So, you're telling me that nobody in this cave would like to kill Fords if they had the chance? You're telling me that they will accept him into this place with grace?"

"That's hardly a fair question," Jeb whined.

"Not everyone here has had the positive experience with souls that you have," I reasoned.

"You're right. I didn't lose anything when the souls came. Everything I've lost in life was lost because of human stupidity. Here I am holding the person I love in this tank and you refuse to let me live with him. I refuse to live without Fords and so now you have a choice: either put Fords back in his body, or watch me starve to death."

"Alex," Felix said.

"No, Felix, you know that once I've made up my mind, there's no convincing me otherwise." Felix sighed in resignation and nodded. "So, you all know my terms and it's time for you to decide. Though, you have some time, so I'm going to take another nap." She looked in the direction of Fords' body, which was a reasonable distance away from her, and asked, "Can I at least sleep next to his body?" I nodded and she padded her way over to the cot with his tank and laid down next to his body to go to sleep.

I sighed. It was going to be a difficult situation to go through. My patient was going to die if Fords didn't get that body, and I was finding that I cared less and less about that person as I saw the pain on Alexandria's face.

**Author's Note: I'm a little bit disappointed to find only one review. My other stories are a lot more popular, so this one isn't going to be updated as quickly. Unless, of coarse, I get more reviews. But, for the few that read this, don't worry, I will keep updating, just not as often as my other stories.**


	4. Chapter 4

It was about breakfast time, and I was starving so I decided to go get some food at the kitchens with Felix, who had a clean bill of health.

I passed Jared in the halls. "Jared, could you watch Alexandria and Fords for me. She refuses to leave."

Jared nodded. "How long until she, you know, needs food desperately?"

"It's hard to say, but at least she's drinking water. She really loves Fords, and his body hasn't come around yet. Do you think, if his host doesn't come to, that we could put him back in?"

"I don't know. You understand how people are around here. They may trust Wanda, but they still are cautious of Sunny, and I don't know how they'll react to an actual healer."

"Both Alexandria and Felix have some genetic traits that would be useful to have around." Jared stared at me questioningly. "Their eyes are reflective. I took the soul out of Felix and Alexandria never had a soul in her, but they both have the silvery eyes of the souls."

"We could definitely use that…" He trailed off in thought.

"I trust that you will keep this to yourself for the time being. Those against souls here will have a field day if they knew about this."

He nodded. "I'll keep it a secret, for now, that is."

"Thanks Jared."

When we got to the kitchens, it was 20 questions. Felix was cautious, so he never let anyone get close enough to see his eyes, but I was still worried. Then, Wanda and Ian came up to us.

"Hey, Doc. I hear Alexandria is refusing to eat anything. Sounds like something Wanda would do," Ian said.

I sighed. "She doesn't want Fords to go to another planet, or to be killed by anyone here."

"I won't let anyone dangerous get close to him." Ian really did sound threatening.

"I hope this can be solved without violence Ian."

Wanda looked really curious. "So, Alexandria and Fords are like me and Ian?" she asked.

"Yes, they're partners." This was another situation just like theirs, only the genders were switched.

"They shouldn't be separated if they're partners. It's wrong."

"I know, but it hasn't been proven that his host isn't present in that body."

Ian had what was seemingly a simple answer to the problem. "Why don't we ask her?"

"Well, if Fords was having problems with his host, then would he have told Alexandria?"

"He's a healer. If he was having problems, he probably would have told someone." Wanda seemed so sure of herself.

"How did you know he was a healer?" I asked.

"He was my healer. He was extremely kind and seemed to be on my side instead of the seeker's."

"He was your healer!?" Ian's eyes were giant bowls on his face.

"Yes."

"Alexandria seems to think that he wouldn't be a danger to us. She said that he found out that she was human and didn't turn her in." I relayed what Alexandria had said to me.

"I know exactly how she feels," Ian said. "If she loves Fords the way she seems to, then it would be cruel to keep them apart. And besides, she seems like the type to hold a grudge. She's probably smart, so she might just get some decent revenge against us if she puts her mind to it."

I nodded. Ian was right. This would only get messier and messier if something happened to Fords.

"She has an animal right to protect her mate." Now Wanda was beginning to sound like one of the narrators on a nature documentary.

"I agree, but some other people here won't. I know Jeb will be unhappy if one of his guests dies here while we did nothing."

"I refuse to see my little sister die." Felix amended. Hmmm. I had almost forgotten about Felix. I wondered if he was always this quiet.

Ian stood up from where he was sitting with a groan. "I'll go talk to her. Hopefully she'll come back to her senses."

"But don't you know Ian," Wanda said. "Human love has no sense or rationality to it."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Alexandria's Point of View**_

The big man, Ian I recalled, strolled over to where I was sitting on my cot. "So, you don't intend to eat?"

"Nope."

"I understand what you're going through, but this isn't the way to go about this."

"And what is the right way, Ian? The person I love is in a tank, and everyone here wants him shipped off somewhere where I can never be. They don't even want to put him in a body that won't come back. Fords never had any problems with his host, and he only had one problem in his life: me. I've been nothing but trouble for him from day one. And now, this is the only way I see to protect him. He only came here because I made him, and because I promised I would protect him! He deserves life here more than 90% of the humans who lived here did." I could feel the tears slipping down my cheeks as all the memories of Fords came flooding to me.

"I have a soul for a partner too, you know." I looked up at the man I had considered, up till now, my enemy. "Her name's Wanda. She's the little one, with the blonde hair. When she first came here, many people wanted her dead, including myself. But, she kept herself alive, and now, we're living a real happily ever after."

"You know, besides my parents and Felix, Fords is the only person I've ever loved. My life was made difficult and painful by the person who killed my parents in a car crash. Since then, I've harbored a deep hatred for the human race. And here, yet again, the human race is failing me."

"What's he like? Fords."

"His full name is Fords Deep Waters, and he's a healer. He doesn't hate our race, or judge us. And he didn't judge me, obviously. He's so kind that it's unbelievable. He's just…wonderful." I sighed and choked on my tears. "I love him so much, and I can't do anything. I feel so useless!"

"All I can say is stand your ground. Be aggressive if you have to, but make sure that you're opinion gets across."

"Can you vouch for him? I mean, you seem to have some say in what goes on around here, so can't you do anything?"

"I do have some say, but in the end, Jeb makes the final decision –"

"So get him in here!" I yelled. "If he makes the final decision, then I'm going to plead my case!" I felt a newfound enthusiasm within myself. The decision wasn't made through a majority vote, or through a small group of people, but, ultimately, by one man. If only one man made the decision, then I thought I stood a good chance.

Ian paused. "I'll get him here, as soon as work is done for the day. I really hope we can become friends, Alexandria."

"Do you have any more questions?"

"Well, no, I guess."

"Then I guess we're don here for now.

He sighed. "I suppose." He began to walk out of the room and just as he was about to leave I said, "I want to be friends, Ian. Just, not until after I know that Fords is safe, okay?" He left the room to do work for the day.

Despite my efforts to stay awake, I drifted into a deep sleep that I had been trying to avoid all day.

* * *

_Alexandria sat in the very back row at the university where she was learning how to remove a soul from its host. She wasn't really interested, and was far more excited for her journalism class later, but she also realized that this was a necessary class to take. _

_Felix sat beside her, as stoic and silent as usual. Though, Alexandria suspected that he found the class dull, too._

_A red-headed man stepped inside the classroom and began to write the simple procedure on the outdated chalkboard the classroom had. "Now, how many here are going to be healers?" he asked. A large portion of the class raised their hands. "Good, it's a very rewarding calling for those who choose it. "Now…" The man continued to talk about the human body._

_Little did Alexandria know that she had caught the man's eye. Of course, the man hadn't failed to notice her rather large companion. He had wrongly assumed that Felix, her brother, was her partner. Because he had made that wrong assumption, Fords Deep Waters had chosen not to ask the woman he considered beautiful out on a date._

_But, a few days later, they met by chance at the grocery store. He had noticed her shopping in the pasta aisle and had decided it wouldn't be too awkward for him to say hello. _

"_Is that you, Alexandria?" he asked. The tan women with brown hair turned to see her professor._

"_Professor Waters."_

"_It's a pleasure to see you here. Where's your partner?"_

"_My partner? I don't have a partner."_

"_Then who is the man who sits next to you every day in class?" Fords had now allowed himself to get hopeful. She was a very bright and beautiful women and he desperately wanted a date with her. The human emotions in him were beginning to take over._

"_He's my host's brother. We _do_ look alike, don't we? Our hosts were very close, so we too have become close friends."_

"_Oh."_

"_Why do you ask?"_

"_In that case, would you like to go on a date with me?"_

"_A date?" Alexandria smiled. "Well, lucky for you that I find red hair very attractive. If we're going to be dating, could I call you Fords?"_

"_Of course."_

That had been the nature of the beginning of their relationship. Alexandria always found it pleasant to dream of Fords. He and Felix were the only people she truly trusted. Though, if the people here allowed Fords to stay, then she thought that she may just find her niche there.


	6. Chapter 6

**Doc's POV**

Jeb arrived at the hospital to find a sleeping Alexandria. "Hey Doc," he said. "How's the patient?"

"As well as could be expected, I suppose. What brings you here Jeb?"

"Alex wants me to decide whether or not Fords can say here."

"Have you made a decision yet?"

"No. I'm going to hold a trial of sorts. Though, I get the final word, of course."

"Of course."

"How's Felix."

"Perfectly fine, but quiet. I think that's just his personality, though. Do you think that Fords should live here?"

"I saw Alex's eyes, Doc." I stiffened.

"It's okay. I know she's human, and those eyes of hers would be awful useful around here. Felix the same way?"

"Yes. His eyes are the same."

"What I've got to think about is what's best for all the folks here. And once they get past the panic stage, I think they'll learn to like Alex and Felix, and then they'll trust 'em. We could get a lot more food if it's more 'n just Wanda out doin' the work."

I nodded. Then added, "I like Alexandria. I think that if Fords has to stay for her to stay, then so be it."

"I'll keep that in mind, Doc. I'll keep that in mind."

"When's the trial?"

"Tomorrow morning. I imagine some folks will be dead set against it." Jeb laughed. "Night, Doc. See you in the morning."

* * *

The trial room was a tense place that morning. Hushed whispers could be heard everywhere and people were glaring a one another. Some shouts could be heard when Alexandria entered the room with her cryo tank held tight against her body.

"Okay now, everyone, settle down." Jeb gained control of his 'court room'. "Now, everyone will get a chance to plead his or her case, so when they're talkin' all the rest of you will shut up. Now, I saw that Magnolia may go first."

"I'll keep my case simple, Jeb. We don't need another soul around here. Especially one we don't know. He could be a seeker and we would have no clue until there were helicopters all over the area. Another sould would be a danger, so I don't want to take the risk. That is all."

"Okay, Alex, you're next."

"I'm useful to you. So is Felix. Felix only stays if I stay, and I only stay if Fords stays. Plus, it isn't fair to send him off somewhere just because of what he is. He was born that way, and he can't help it. In the Amendments, it says no one will be discriminated against based on the way they were born. Race, gender, etc. You can't help that. Fords can't help it either. He loves me. When he found out that I was human and not a soul, he still loved me, and I love him. You keep other souls here," she looked at Wanda and Sunny. "What's one more. Especially when my staying here depends on his staying here."

"What do you mean you're useful," asked Lacey.

"My eyes are silvery and reflective, even though I don't have a soul in me. I can pose as a soul and get whatever you need." Everybody rushed toward her to see if she was lying about her eyes, which she wasn't.

"Doc, is it true? She doesn't have a soul in her?" Heidi asked.

"It's true."

"I want some order in here people!" yelled Jeb. "Kyle, Ian, Jared, would you be so kind as to restore some peace?" The three big men got people back in their seats. "Now, we're gonna hold the vote. But my word is final if I don't agree with the majority, ya hear? All in favor of Fords being sent away?" A lot of people raised their hands. From where I was sitting, I couldn't tell if it was more than half or not. "All in favor of Fords staying?" A lot of people raised their hands for that too, including myself. "I'll go with the majority, then." Wait! What was the majority! In my mind I was panicking. Then, I saw the look on Maggie's face. A look of absolute disgust. The look on Alexandra's face was one of pure triumph. Alex had won.

I ran up to her and gave her a hug of joy. "Congratulations! I'll put him back in right now!" She and I ran as fast as we could to the hospital so that we could put her partner back in his body. I liked Alexandria and I hoped that she would be alright here. She belonged here. She and her brother were survivors and would be a welcome addition, along with Fords, to this extended family.


	7. Chapter 7

Alexandria

Earlier that day, Fords had been put back in his body. Right now, we were laying on the same cot, and I listened to the heartbeat that I knew so well as I felt his chest move up and down steadily. This body didn't belong to some human stranger, who I didn't care about, it belonged to my Fords. It was to the familiar rhythm of his heart that I fell asleep.

* * *

_Alexandria and Fords stood in the grocery store that they had first officially met each other in. Alexandria was trying to figure out what to make for dinner that night and musing out loud about it to Fords._

_"At least it's Friday. That means Monday is coming up and then it's his week to make dinner." She continued her steady walk down the aisle. "I think I'll keep it simple and make spaghetti. What do you think?"_

_"I don't have any particular opinion about the matter."_

_"It's too bad that you aren't a foodie like Felix and me. If you were, then you'd care."_

_He laughed. "You do so well at talking like a human, it's quite an accomplishment. I don't get more than half of their slang words."_

_"You at least get foodie right?"_

_"Someone who enjoys food more than is normal?"_

_"Something like that." She gave him one of her lovely smiles and began inspecting the shelves again. _

_Fords noticed that the hair around her neckline had parted. Hmmm. He couldn't see her scar from here. Maybe it was just so small that you couldn't see it unless you were up close. He walked closer until he was as close as he could get without raising suspicion. He still could see no scar. Was Alexandria human?_

_Later..._

_She was putting away the ingredients for that night's dinner in hers and Felix's apartment when he brought up the subject. "Dria... are you human? Don't lie." At this point, he refused to make eye contact with her._

_"Why do you think I would lie to you, Fords?"_

_"Humans lie."_

_"That's true. But, souls have little to lie about. Yes."_

_"Yes?"_

_"Yes, I am human." I look of absolute terror crossed over his face._

_"Please don't kill me." He looked to her face for hatred or malice but found none. All he found was pain. Had his words hurt her?_

_"Why would I ever do anything that would hurt you Fords?"_

_"You're human."_

_"How does that change anything?" she shouted. "We've been together for over a year now and you don't trust me?" The volume of her voice grew, and tears sprang into her eyes. "I care about you, Fords, and I've never hurt a Soul in my entire life. Why would I start now?"_

_"You're answering my questions with questions, Alexandria."_

_"What will you do now? Put a soul in me and hope that I will be the same? I am not a soul! But I love one!" Tears flowed freely down her face and she sank to the ground in defeat. "Even if you intend to change me, I won't resist. My _human_ side is showing and right now, I feel that I can't live without you. That's stupid, and absolutely illogical, but it's how I feel. Right now, I don't even have the energy to try and escape."_

_"I need to think." He shoved his hands in his pockets and left the apartment, and the woman in it alone._

_After he left, he took out a cell phone and shakily dialed a number. "Felix? You need to get out of the city, now!" she paused. "No. I'm staying here. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I can take care of myself. Bye." She hung up, buried her face in her knees and cried._

_Dria... Dria... Dria... Her name kept echoing in his mind. The hurt and fear on her face was an image that would be burned into his mind forever. What did he have to fear from her? Why was he afraid? Had she ever done anything to him? The answers were nothing, no reason, and no. The only person who had to fear for their life right now was her. _She_ was scared of _him.

_So many questions all at the same time was making his head hurt. How many humans currently lived in soul society? Was Felix human? How did they make their eyes reflective?_

_Her eyes... Her beautiful green eyes were haunting me right now. Dria was human. How was that possible? I had never once seen her do anything remotely violent. She was always gentle and had a soft way of speaking. Neither of them possessed the qualities considered human. My aching heart couldn't process it all at one time._

_I had always felt sorry for humans and been kind to their bodies when they were handed over to me to have a soul put in them. But now that I finally knew a human, I realized that they didn't deserve the horrible reputation they were always given. At least, not all of them deserved it._

_Fords looked to the sky. What had been a warm sunny day, was now turning into a dark rainy night. It was raining buckets out and Fords didn't even care as his clothes quickly became soaked._

_He looked up again, to see Alexandria's apartment. He had, unconsciously, wandered back her. BOOM! A thunderclap sounded as he opened the door to the complex._

_Another rumble came as he lifted the key out of his pocket._

_The door opened. Rumble. He saw Alexandria on the floor exactly where he had left her. It had been hours and she still hadn't moved? He quietly walked over and touched her head in the darkness. She hadn't even bothered to turn the lights on when the sun had set._

_He slowly stroked her tearstained face and said, "I'm sorry." With a half gasp, half sob, she wrapped her arms around him and cried into his wet shirt that was stuck to his body. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He murmured softly. She only squeezed him tighter. "I love you, and will continue loving you, my sweet Dria." The thunder continued to rumble and the lightning continued to flash in the dark room as the kissed. She would forgive him, and he would accept her._

**Author's Note: Okay, I hoped you all liked it. Fords Deep Waters can be romantic too! Please review, it makes me happier than anything else in the world to see a review from someone!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Fords P.O.V.**

I woke up to see Dria sitting by my bedside. It was almost like our entire trip to the desert, and the ordeal before-hand had never happened.

But no. It had all happened and a tall skinny man with blonde hair walked up to Dria with a frantic look on his face. "Damnit, Alexandria, you promised you would eat if we put him back in his body!"

Her voice was calm and soothing, just how I remembered. "Don't worry, Doc. I'll eat, I just wanted to make sure he woke up and that nothing had gone wrong." He handed some fruit to her and she ate it slowly while looking into my eyes. The silent communication that always seemed to pass through us was a lovely thing to experience again. "You hungry, Fords? Everything's okay. Just like I promised."

"Is that man a human or a soul?" I asked.

"He's human. And Felix is human again. But there are other souls here, Fords. You won't be alone."

"There are other souls here?" I was incredulous. Humans and souls living together had been unheard of until Alexandria and Felix. And now there was a colony of humans and souls living together.

"Yes. And some of them are like us. Wanda and Ian are partners, and so are Sunny and Kyle. Plus, Melanie used to have a soul in her, like Felix. It would seem we are not the freaks of nature we assumed we were." A smile played on her lips. I leaned over and kissed her, but when I was done kissing her, I gave her a serious look. The silent communication passed again and she understood that we needed to talk later.

The blonde man who Dria had called 'Doc' came up to me with a tray of food and insisted I eat it. I didn't put up a fight and he looked relieved. When he left I asked, "Is there something wrong with him?"

She looked away casually. "Ummm, earlier I might have threatened not to eat until you were put back in your body." she said this so matter-of-factly that it was almost funny.

"You didn't have to starve yourself for me. How long have I been out of my body anyway?"

"I don't know, a few days. I've been pretty out of it, and my sleeping schedule has been way off."

"You should take better care of yourself."

"I know, but you are the most important person in my life. Besides, there's quite a few things that you need to learn if you're going to be living among us horribly unstable creatures." He cringed, but she smiled. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just remember a few things: 1) Humans have dirty humor, so if you don't get it, you probably don't _want_ to get it. 2) Sometimes when humans threaten violence, it's a joke so don't take it seriously. 3) Keep an eye out for subtlety, read the hidden meaning within the hidden meanings." She gave him a comforting hug. "Stick by me and you'll learn soon enough. And don't let anybody push you around. Most people here have accepted the presence of souls, but there are still a few bitter people who have yet to get past their childish prejudices."

"By childish prejudices, are you referring to my partner?" Doc and somebody else walked in.

"Maybe she's talkin' 'bout Mags." This man was older, and then I noticed his gun. Earlier, I was skittish, now, I was terrified. Dria took my hand. The man laughed. "He reacts like all the other souls! Well now, I'm Jeb and this is Doc and you must be Fords. It's a pleasure to meet the nice young man who has stolen Alex's heart." He grinned a toothy grin and shook my hand. "Now this is my place yer in now, and you live by my rules. My word is law. Anyway, as soon as Doc gives everyone here the all clear, we'll be headin to dinner, and then tomorrow, we start work." I nodded along, not taking my eyes off that awful gun. He caught me staring at it, and laughed again. "Don't you worry now, this is mostly for show. It only rarely gets any use at all."

Dria glared. "You're only scaring him more, Jeb. He already thinks that humans are mostly a bunch of trigger happy, violent, hoodlums, and you don't need to make his mental image of us worse. We need to cherish the last vestiges of his respect for us. Your prevarications become tedious." Jeb looked like he was about to drop dead from exhaustion.

"Boy Alex, you sure know how to make a man uneasy by bringin' out the big words."

"Just keeping you in check. Come on, Fords, let's go to dinner." Then she whispered in my ear, "I don't think he's ever actually shot off that gun, ever." She dragged me down the labrynth of corridors until we reached what looked like a sort of mess hall. Lots of people sat around the room eating and it was impossible to tell which were humans and which were souls.

"Over here, Alexandria." At one table sat a group of eight people, including the always stoic Felix, and Doc. Dria pulled me over and introduced me to everyone.

"You already know Doc and Felix. But over there is Kyle and his partner Sunny. Sunny is a soul, and Kyle's human. That's Ian and his partner Wanda." The small blonde gave me an awkward and tentative smile. She looked like she recognized me, but I was sure that I'd never seen her before. "Then there's Melanie and her partner, Jared." Melanie. I had heard that name before, I was sure of it. That was the name of the human whose body Wanderer had been in. Wanderer, who had disappeared. Wanderer, whose face was now looking right at me.

"Wanderer…" I trailed.

"I'm right here," the little blonde woman said. "It was just shortened, by Jeb, to Wanda. It's nice seeing you again, Fords Deep Waters."

"You know her, Fords?" Dria asked.

"Yes, I was the one to put her in her original body here on earth. Her host was that woman over there." I pointed to Melanie, who was wrapped tight in the arms of her partner Jared. "I was really worried for you, um, Wanda."

With that, Wanda's story of coming to this human stronghold was explained to all at the table. Thankfully, Felix didn't show any emotion during all of this - at least his passiveness was one thing I could always count on.

* * *

Alexandria and I were shown to our room where we would be staying. "Do you want to talk about it right now?" I asked.

"No. Not right now. I'm tired."

"Alexandria, I don't want you to run away from this. Whatever you choose is fine with me, just be sure to stick to the path you choose."

"You're not making this easy."

"I'm staying out of this. It's not mine."

"It would be easier if you were involved in my problem, because as far as I'm concerned, it's your problem too." She sighed. "I don't want to fight tonight. We'll talk about it some other time."

"Come on." We crawled onto our mattress and held each other for a few minutes before falling asleep.

**Author's Note: Hope you all liked this. Don't worry things will get interesting at the end of the next chapter, as another problem is thrown into Alexandria's life. Did I do good or bad in portraying Fords? Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Alexandria**

Fords, being the first healer who still had a host, gave Doc a boatload of knowledge when it came to soul medicine and for that, Doc practically worshipped Fords. However, there were many people who didn't share Doc's view on Fords.

Working around the stronghold was awkward to say the least. There were still some people who would give Fords dirty looks. So, when he wasn't paying attention, I would artfully flip those people off. Then, they would glare at me and stalk off to continue their work.

But, at one point, it gets to be too much.

We were working out in the fields at the same time as Sharon and some other woman whose name I had yet to learn - all I knew about her was that she had two young sons. Sharon was outright leering at Fords and I glared fiercely back at her, my stance clearly protective of Fords.

The spiteful stares continued throughout our work, and finally, I had had enough. "You have a problem?" I challenged.

"Yeah. There's a bunch of nasty bugs all over the garden." Sharon's voice dripped with venom and all of it was obviously aimed at Fords. He flinched uncomfortably at the label he had gotten: bug.

"I know what you mean." I looked at her. "I'm looking at a particularly nasty bug right now. I think maybe I'll squash it." I had returned my attention to the gardening when I felt myself hit by something.

I was being attacked by Sharon. She was clinging to my back when I elbowed her. Then, I managed to hit her really hard in the face, probably giving her a black eye. The fighting continued violently after that; she would punch me in the gut, I would sweep her legs out from under her, etc.

But, I was really happy to note that Sharon was definitely getting the worst end of the fight. I had a couple cuts and was sore all over, but she was bleeding from her nose, her lip, her eyebrow, and countless other places, as well as having a black eye.

Eventually - and sadly - Jeb came in to break things up. His gun went off a couple times and it took Kyle and Jared to pull us off each other.

"What is going on here?" Jeb roared. Right now I felt like a child.

Sharon answered first, and in a most pleasant way. "She started the entire thing."

"Like hell I did!" The look I gave Sharon was so intense that even Kyle and Jared looked a little scared. "You and all your little friends have been glaring at Fords every chance you got, and I simply asked what your problem was." I was _pissed._ If that bitch wanted to pin this on me, then she was going to have a very miserable last few hours of life.

"He doesn't belong here," she said coldly.

"You wanna go, bitch?" Jared had a very hard time keeping me off her and it seemed that Kyle wasn't being very successful, either. When I calmed down, I talked again. "As far as I'm concerned, he deserves to be here more than you do. You mess with him, and you answer to me. If you have any doubts as to what will happen to you, then know that my eyes aren't the only reason I was able to live among the souls. I fight with my brains, not my fists and that will be all the more painful for those who piss me off." I shrugged Jared's hands off my shoulders. "I'm going back to work."

Before I even began to work again though, I gave Fords a gentle hug. "Can you at least _try_ to control yourself and not fight?" he asked.

"Sorry," I sighed. "There's something about her specifically, though, that just really rubs me the wrong way." I shook my head. "But I will try to ignore it. It was so much easier living around the easy going souls."

He shrugged. "You're the one who wanted to come here."

"Yeah, yeah." We continued to work until late afternoon. "By the way, Fords. If_ anyone_ tries to hurt you, you tell me."

"I don't want you to get violent."

"Fords, this is about your well-being, so don't argue. I told you that once we got here, I would look out for you and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

**Ian**

It wasn't until dinner that I heard about Alexandria's fight with Sharon. I had figured out that something weird had happened when Doc was sitting at another table with Sharon and shooting apologetic looks at us, but I didn't know exactly what had happened.

Another odd thing that happened was Alexandria was unusually quiet at dinner. She just held Fords close and barely said a word. It actually wasn't until Kyle said, "Feeling better?" that she said anything at all.

"That bitch," she growled. "She has no right to treat Fords that way." Her menacing tone was enough to scare everyone at the table. Only Felix looked calm, but that seemed to be the only emotion he ever showed.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Bitch-ass over there hasn't stopped shooting dirty looks at Fords since he got here. Her and all her little friends - "

Kyle had been working in the garden too and he just started laughing. "You should've seen her, Ian. A few nasty words exchanged and Sharon jumped her! But, if you ask me, Sharon got the worst of the fight. Alexandria sure didn't go easy on her."

Fords looked beside himself. "I hate to think that Dria is fighting because of me."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be a good girl from now on."

"What did she do anyway?" I asked.

"She called Fords a bug. I will not tolerate that."

* * *

The next day, Alex and Fords weren't at breakfast. We checked their rooms, but they weren't there either.

Felix didn't show any concern, and didn't even look up from his food when we mentioned their absence. Something was up. Felix always worried about his little sister's well-being, so he should be a little uneasy if she suddenly disappeared, unless he knew what was going on.

"Come on, spill it Felix. Where are they?" Jared was pestering him, but Felix wouldn't budge. He just paid attention to his food.

"Let's go, Jared. He isn't going to say anything, and they'll probably turn up for work," I reasoned.

"Yeah, Jared. I bet they're just caught up doing something naughty," suggested Kyle.

Jared nodded, but didn't look as if he believed us. However, they couple showed up right when work began.

No matter how much we questioned them, they remained silent about what they had been doing during breakfast.

**Doc**

The pattern repeated itself throughout the week. Alex and Fords would be missing at breakfast, Felix wouldn't say anything, Alex and Fords would return, and they too wouldn't say anything. It was all very irritating.

That is, until Friday.

It was right after breakfast and I was heading to the latrine before the work started for the day. Right before I entered the room, I heard voices inside.

"Why does it have to be every morning," a voice I recognized as Alex's moaned.

"It is called morning sickness after all."

"I know. But every morning?"

"It's different for everyone," Fords sighed.

_Morning sickness?_ Alex was having _morning sickness?_

**Author's note: Sorry for the long wait, but I'm in the process of moving and I have a track meet coming up so I don't have as much free time as I'd like. Plus, it seems whenever I get onto the computor, my younger siblings come to bug me. Anyway, I wasn't originally planning for Alex to be pregnant, but as the story progressed, that's just how it happened. Please review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Alexandria**

I heard a small gasp from just outside the latrine, and released a gasp myself. They must have heard what I said and I could only hope it wasn't Sharon or any of the women and men that agree with her point of view on souls.

I rushed outside to find a very surprised Doc standing there. "_Get in here!_" I whispered ferociously. Once we were inside, I immediately was on the offensive. "How much did you hear?" I demanded.

"Uhh…all of it, I think," he stuttered.

"Great. Just great." Now everyone was going to know, and Sharon is going to be one of the first." I was now to the point of hyperventilating when Doc literally shook me.

"Why didn't you tell me? You didn't eat anything for days! And you need check-ups every so often!"

"Up until now, I've considered it to be a rather private matter. Besides, I'm sure that Sharon will have a field day when she finds out."

"She'll find out anyway, at least now you can get some sort of medical attention."

"You can't tell anyone!" I could feel the fire in my eyes as I ordered his silence.

"Is this why you came here to the desert?"

"Yes." I looked away. "Partially it was for my own safety. If I went to a doctor there, they'd know I wasn't a soul. And as a human, I had no rights there. Whatever wishes I had for my own child would be completely ignored. And Fords would be looked down upon by all his peers and other friends for not reporting a human living among them. I had to find a human refuge. I did some research and figured there was one in the area around here. And then, you guys found us."

All the puzzle pieces put themselves together in Doc's head. "And that's why you two weren't coming to breakfast," he breathed.

"Yes." I didn't feel sick anymore so I tugged on Fords' arm to leave. "Work will be starting soon, we better go."

"Wait! Can you come for a check-up after work? You really should be taking better care of yourself. And we've been running low on food since you guys postponed our raid - we need to get more. I won't tell anyone, don't worry." I nodded and pulled Fords along with me for our morning interrogation that was likely awaiting us.

"I'm still going on that raid, though. Felix and I could be very useful."

"Fords," Doc said desperately. "Do they have medical licenses or something there?"

"Yes. I still have mine, in fact," Fords said with a curious look on his face.

"Good. Could you pick up these medical supplies for me then? If you're going on the raid, that is."

"Sure."

Fords and I were the only ones in the kitchen that morning. Breakfast was already over and lunch was hours away, so the entire area was deserted. "How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.

"Fine."

"I'm sorry?"

"For what?"

"Getting you pregnant." I could see a deep amount of remorse on his face.

"It's my fault if it's anyone's, and it's no one's fault. For some reason, my birth control didn't work and I don't see how you could have prevented or changed that."

We stood in silence, cleaning up breakfast when he decided to delve into another question. "Why didn't you get an abortion? You don't seem the type to have a child that you don't want."

"Oh, I've always wanted children. Of course, I wanted to be married and with a steady job by then, but, the world had undeniably changed. Here, where we are now, we might as well be married, and there's always some kind of work to be done. But you're right, if I didn't want children, I probably would have tried for an abortion in that particular situation. Though, I always had different views on abortion depending on each certain case." **(Author's Note: I don't care what your particular views are on the subject, these are my character's views. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but that's the way my character is.)**

"I didn't know that you wanted children," he muttered.

"I know. I never mentioned it because I knew that it would upset you."

"It's not mine."

"I still disagree."

"Science is against you. Genetically, it's not mine. I can't have children."

"I know, I know, all that scientific crap you're always spewing pisses me off. Whether it's genetically yours or not is irrelevant. Just because a man has a child that is genetically his, that doesn't make him a father. What makes him a father is whether or not he plays the role of a father. And, I believe at least, that you fit the bill. You'd make a good father if you gave yourself half a chance."

"And what if my host becomes aware of himself and I have to switch bodies? What happens then when he claims the child is his?"

"Then I hit him upside the head and say he isn't coming anywhere near my kid! I love _you_, Fords. Not the body you're in, though I'll admit it's a damn sexy one and if I were to put you in a new body, it would probably have to be handsome, too." I sighed dramatically.

"I wish this hadn't happened and that everything could go back to the way it had been. All three of us living in an apartment, fighting over what to order for Chinese take-out."

"You and I dancing to Mr. Bojangles, American Pie, and Simon and Garfunkel. Yeah, I miss it too, Fords. But, what you souls don't seem to understand is that change is inevitable for everyone and that you just need to deal with it. I feel that I made the right decision in coming here. I'm sorry, I sort of made that decision for you, but I didn't have that many options."

He gave me a small hug. "I still don't agree with you, but that doesn't mean I don't love you. I still don't think it's mine."

I snorted. "You can't win and you know it."

"Yes that seems to always be the can when a soul and a human get into any form of a disagreement. The human, who has the more argumentative nature, always wins."

"I see you noticed." I gave him a kiss. "Well, we'll pick this conversation up later. For now, let's just make lunch."

**Author's Note: Okay, so I didn't mean to offend anyone by mentioning the touchy subject of abortion. I'm not necessarily stating my opinion on it, and I don't intend to mention my personal opinion on it. That's just **_**her**_** opinion on the matter. I haven't gotten as many reviews for the last chapter and I hope it isn't because I made her pregnant. :( Anyway, best to all of you and I hope you review. It just makes my day.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Doc **

(I haven't written from his POV in a while…)

"So tomorrow you go on a raid with Felix and Fords?" I asked.

"Yep." She paused. "I'm kind of glad to be out of here. I'm not claustrophobic, but this place just feels claustrophobic. I need a change of scenery, and it would be nice to be able to see the sun all day." Her silvery-green eyes became glassy as she dreamed about going on the raid.

"Are Fords and Felix as excited as you are?"

"I don't know about Felix. Well, you know how he is, he always been stoic."

"Always?"

"Ever since mom and dad died in an accident caused by a drunk driver. He's always been good to me and taken care of me - the best big brother ever." A small smile crept onto her face. "He was out shopping one day for food when he was caught and had a soul put in him. When he didn't come back, I knew what had happened. But, later, he found me and he was as quiet and Felix-like as always. No soul could ever quite capture the presence that Felix has, no matter how hard they tried. Anyway, I knew that Felix was Felix and somehow, he actually repressed the soul inside of him. After that, everything was back to normal."

"Isn't it usually those with a strong personality and mind that are able to repress their souls?"

"I guess that Felix must have at least one of those," she giggled. "He cares about people, he just has a different way of showing it. For instance, I know that he's had his eyes on a certain woman since he came here…" She trailed off and looked at me as if she knew I couldn't resist the gossip. Oh curse you, guilty pleasure of gossip.

"Who does he like?"

"Lily."

I grimaced. "She's not exactly looking for anyone right now."

"Felix already knows that. He has this uncanny ability to know what people are thinking and he knows how to read emotions really well. But, he also knows how to wait. He can be patient and bide his time until she's ready to be in a relationship."

"Never took him as the thoughtful type."

She laughed outright at this comment. "No one ever does! But really, Felix is far more perceptive than people give him credit for."

Alexandria's checkup was long over and we were walking to dinner together. "Fords doesn't want to go, but he wants to prove that he isn't going to betray anyone here. If he's helpful, he thinks that people will accept him more. Not likely, but he's still got to try. By the way, it will draw attention if people see us arrive together to dinner."

"I could just say that you've been sick."

"Do you think Sharon will believe that," she suggested knowingly. I froze. If there was one thing I feared, it was the wrath of Sharon, and Alexandria seemed to realized this. "Oh ho, that seemed to knock some sense into you! You can go first, and I'll be a couple minutes behind you."

**Alexandria**

Dinner proved to be the '20 Questions' affair that had been going on all week.

"Come on, Alexandria, tell us what you've been doing during the mornings! If you've got nothing to hide, then there shouldn't be a problem."

"That's the thing. I do have something to hide that is my personal business, Kyle."

"It can't be that bad!"

"Ian, whether it is that bad or not doesn't concern you. But out!" she answered coolly, still looking intently at her meal.

Fords squirmed, and Jared gave a devious smirk. "I know souls don't like to lie, and they tend not to do well under pressure." Under Jared's stare, Fords only began to fidget even more.

I held his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Like I said earlier: But out." It had looked as if they were going to continue pestering my Fords into submission, but Felix, thankfully, must have given them a Felix-worthy glare. I laughed at their stupified faces. Obviously none of them had seen Felix show any sign of emotion ever, and when Felix wants to, he can be the scariest thing on the planet.

After dinner, Felix came up to me with a pleading expression on his face. "What's up?" I asked.

"I don't want to go on the raid tomorrow." Felix didn't really talk to anyone except for me and, for the most part, other people accepted that fact.

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Lily. And I guess I'm just not ready to completely switch sides." He grinned slightly.

"Mostly Lily, though?" He nodded as he had done something terribly wrong. I put on the pretense of giving him a terrible fit, then giggled and said, "Okay." His silvery-brown eyes widened in surprise. "You don't have to be afraid to tell me what you want to do, Felix. You can stay and try to woo Lily over while Fords and I go on the raid."

"Be careful."

"You know I will." I stood on my tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Have a romantic time!" He gave me a dubious look. "Well… you know very well what I mean, Felix!"

* * *

Going on raids was surprisingly easy. After we were well away from the area where Fords used to practice medicine, it was easy enough for him to get all the medical supplies Doc wanted. However, apart from the medical supplies, Fords pretty much just hung and enjoyed the ride around while Wanda and I did all the shopping.

We didn't attract that much attention and we both knew the generic soul names that wouldn't draw us any attention if names were absolutely necessary to be given. I enjoyed my time around Wanda and it was quite nice to have a female companion for once. It had always been Felix and I alone, and then Fords joined, so I had never really spent much time around other women in over a decade since my parents died.

"Which of these new clothes do you want, Alexandria?"

"Can't I just wash these in the hotel? Besides, I brought a spare set of clothes." Wanda nodded and wandered off to look for the last item on our list for the day before we headed off to our hotel room for the evening.

I froze when I happened to pass the pregnancy test area. I hadn't been nervous when I had taken mine, I figured I was just a little late, or maybe I had skipped that month.

My thought were interrupted by someone who was working at the store. "Do you need a pregnancy test?"

"Oh, no! Please excuse me, I have a tendency of letting my mind wander."

"That's not a problem." She took me for my word just as all souls do. "If you'd like, I can give you a pill to help you concentrate better."

"That's okay, I enjoy the sensation of daydreaming." I noticed Wanda walking over. "Dancing Petals, do you have everything?"

"Yes."

"Well, then, let's get going." I hurried out of the store, hoping that sleep would offer some peace for my mind that refused to calm itself.


	12. Chapter 12

Wanda and I were stretching our legs out in the little garden that our hotel had. She had asked me to walk with her and I had been suspicious until… "Alexandria, I'm going to ask you something and I want you to tell me the truth."

It was almost kind of funny to watch her trying to be assertive. "What is it you want to ask me?"

"Well, um, what's it like having a soul for a partner when you're a human?" She said this all really fast as if it were an offensive question that she just wanted to get over with.

"Oh. Well, it's a little bit…different, I suppose. Well, obviously you and I know that a human and soul partnership has many more obstacles to overcome than a partnership that is of the same…species, I guess." I paused. "Did you know that Doc asked me this very same question. Well, anyway, back to what I was saying earlier. When he found out I was human was a huge obstacle. At least with you and Ian, he knew you were a soul from the beginning, and you knew he was human. I kept my true identity from Fords until he found out himself and it almost destroyed our relationship. Any soul aside from Fords and I might be dead or be wreaking havoc on some poor soul like Mel did with you, Wanda. And, er, souls can be rather dense when it comes to certain subjects."

Wanda gave me a questioning look. "Like what, exactly?"

"You'll find out soon enough, I'm sure." I adverted my gaze, trying not to look too suspicious. Yeah, she would find out soon enough. Within a month or two, I would start showing. "Anyway, Wanda, I think it really is different with each relationship. I mean, our two partnerships met under two completely different circumstances, right?"

"What I really meant was, are you unhappy, being with a soul?"

"What? No! I mean, it's probably a lot harder, but I think it's worth it. I love Fords, and yeah, if he were human it would be easier, but he's not, and I love him either way, even if he is an idiot sometimes."

Wanda giggled. "I think that's men in general."

"Yeah. I remember how pissed my mom used to get with my dad, before they died, when his friends would send him perverted emails. They were really stupid emails, but my dad thought they were hilarious." We got on the subject of how idiotic men were and conversation flowed much more smoothly after that.

Though, it was quite obvious that Wanda was relieved that I didn't regret having a relationship with a soul

Unfortunately, the awkward conversations didn't end there. Ian, while we were getting dinner for everyone else, asked me what Wanda and I had been talking about earlier.

"Well, she just asked me what it's like dating a soul from the human's point of view. She asked me if I regretted it."

He looked absolutely panicked. "What did you say?"

"That I didn't regret it at all and that I loved Fords very much. You don't have to worry." He calmed down considerably.

"So how're things with you and Fords?" he asked conversationally.

"We're having an argument."

"Oh. Really? You don't act like it."

"Just because we disagree over something doesn't mean we have to dislike each other for it. Besides, I have a couple of mostly-foolproof plans that will surely get him to see reason."

"Oh," he said again. "Anyway, did you and Wanda talk about anything else while you were in the garden?" Turning it onto Wanda again.

"Well, we talked about how men are all dim-witted creatures."

"That's a little unfair, don't you think?"

"No, I don't think that that's an unfair opinion." Conversation pretty much stopped after that as we ordered food from the drive-through at Wendy's.

I cuddled with Fords all the way back to the hide-out of sorts. It was true that we were currently in the middle of an argument, but it wasn't a very heated argument and I had another good six months before I was due. Besides, what was the point in being mad at each other for simply having different opinions. We could still be civil, at least, towards each other couldn't we?

When we entered the caves again, Felix ran up to me, looking as though he had just robbed a bank. "I tried to stop them…Doc… Sharon threatened to leave him…he had to tell…"

"What's going on, Felix?" I asked.

"Doc had to tell them you were pregnant."

**Author's Note: Review Please. ;) By the way, I am going on a vacation soon, so it will probably be a while before I update again. Probably sometime in mid to late August. Sorry, but all of you will just have to wait. But, reviews will make me update all the faster when I get back from vacation. Also, sorry for the short length of this chapter, I just figured I'd leave everyone with sort of a cliff hanger - I know, you hate me for it.**


	13. Chapter 13

Great. Just terrific. I tried to ignore the curious, accusing, or hostile stares that people gave me. Because everyone gave me one of those stares. I passed Sharon on the way to my room and flipped her off. I'm usually a pretty pleasant person, but around Sharon, I became really really… malicious. I could see that Fords' cheeks were red, and he was obviously embarrassed by this entire situation, particularly because a lot of the glares were aimed at him.

"Oh, move along, people. There's nothing to see here and I would think you have better things to do than follow us around. There's food from the raid that needs to be stored, right?" They all muttered a response. "Then get going!"

I heard a chuckle from down the hall. "You sure know how to put people in line, Alex." I was Jeb.

"Hello, Jeb." My voice was edgy and I wondered why he was here. Jeb generally didn't speak to people unless he wanted something, or unless you directly addressed him.

"Surely we can be cordial here, Alex. I'm not going to do something you would find objectionable, surely?"

"What do you want?"

"Just the facts."

"Fine. Ask your questions if you're really that curious."

"You're pregnant?"

"Yes."

"With Fords?"

"Who else would I be pregnant with? Doc?"

"That's what some of the rumors are."

"People here need to really get a life. Doc and I aren't involved. Yes, I'm pregnant with Fords."

"Okay, that's all I need to know. And don't worry, eventually everyone will get used to this and get over it."

"Pffft. Sharon won't. Besides, I don't care what the hell people think of me, or what they do to me as long as they leave Fords alone."

* * *

For a while, dinner was a silent affair, until Kyle finally broke the awkward lack of conversation. "So, that's why you were never at breakfast, huh?"

"Yep. Morning sickness."

"I see…" he trailed off clumsily.

"Well, congratulations!" said Ian warmly.

I smiled. "Thanks." Fords concentrated on his food, and all the souls at the table seemed to understand why he was silent.

The only way Wanda could have truly biological children was for her herself to die, and I didn't know if Sunny was a mother or just another soul, like Fords. Either way, they must have both felt uncomfortable. Ian stared at all the souls and I think it finally clicked in his head that this was what Fords and I were fighting about. To be honest, I wasn't really comfortable with the entire world knowing about the soap opera of my life, so I quickly switched to some generic topic.

After dinner, Wanda approached me. "Hi."

"Hi, yourself."

"Ummm, well I talked to Fords."

"Did you? Now I have absolutely no idea what on earth you two could be talking about." Sarcasm was an easy way to disguise the fact that I was just about ready to burst into tears. (Stupid hormones.) I really could imagine what Fords could be saying to Wanda - that it wasn't his child.

"You're okay with the fact that it isn't really his child?"

"Wanda, let me tell you a story. Now, back when humans ruled the world, a lot of women, fell for bums. Guys, who weren't good for them. Now, sometimes, those women would get pregnant with those bums, and obviously it wouldn't be good for any child to have a man like that around for a father. So, they'd dump the bums and the lucky women might find a good man who would father the woman's child, even though they weren't the biological father. And often times, the kids wouldn't care. They'd call the other man their father anyway. Do you see my point? DNA doesn't matter to me. Fords is the father of this baby because I say he is. Fords is, not his host."

"And what if his host wakes up and claims to be the father?"

"Then I kick his host's ass and keep his host away from our baby."

"You're so violent."

"Only when it comes to Fords. Would you become violent for Ian?"

She thought about it long and hard. "I'd do anything for Ian."

"Exactly."

She paused to think again. "Does this mean that even though I'm not its biological aunt, I still get to be an aunt?"

"Of course. If you want, you can be aunt Wanda. Like I said, here and now, DNA doesn't really matter."

Her cheeks flushed bright red. "Do you think that Ian would feel the same way that you do?"

"About what, exactly?"

"Having children with a soul."

"Why wouldn't he feel the same way? He signed up for this."

"You don't sign up for love."

"Oh, yes you do. He and I could have walked away from you and Fords a long time ago, but we didn't. Like I said, we signed up for this."

She fiddled with her shirt and said, "Thank you."

"No problem. I'm really hoping to make Fords come around, and I'd like you and a couple other choice people to help me. Otherwise we go to plan Z."

"What's plan Z?"

"Plan Z goes as follows: Hope that Fords feels a sudden rush of love for his child after it's born. But we'll only use that as a last resort."

* * *

I was back in my room, and Fords and I were about to go to bed. "I'm sorry."

I gave him a pissed look. "For what?"

"You should be embarrassed. You're pregnant with a soul and everyone is mad at you."

"Everyone is not mad at me, only the bozos are mad at me and I don't give a damn about them unless I'm giving them a black eye. The people who matter are happy for us, just like they would be for any other couple who was going to have a baby. The only person who is embarrassed here is you."

"I can't have children! Don't you get it?"

"I don't care about technicalities. Wanda's going to be the aunt, and she isn't your sister or my sister, so I don't see the difference between the two situations. I consider you the father and that's all that matters."

After that, I went to bed because I was exhausted from arguing with him. I loved him, but he was revealing his male idiocy right now.

**Author's Note: Okay I'm back from vacation and hoping that you'll review this latest chapter. So click that button that is right below this text!  
**


	14. Chapter 14

Felix was staring at Lily again. I gave him a smirk, but he simply ignored me, choosing to keep his eyes on her. The past month, he was almost constantly observing her every move, though Lily seemed to be blissfully unaware of his affections. I felt bad for him, constantly having to watch her from afar. I trusted his judgment, though, to know that he was probably making the right decision with her. He was very aware when it came to human emotions, and because of that, he must have some idea as to whether or not she was ready, or would ever be ready, to love him.

Jeb was right about people eventually calming down. At least, anyone who actually mattered. Sharon was as adamantly against me as ever, unfortunately. I really only say unfortunately because it seemed that my relationship with Sharon was affecting Doc's relationship with Doc. (She was just angry with him because he was friends with me.) Or so the rumors went, neither of them actually said anything. Though, they really didn't need to, because when the two of them were in a room together, you could cut the tension with a knife.

This was one of those moments. We had all been having dinner, when Sharon stepped into the room, late. At our table, it was as if time had stopped completely. I had stopped spooning pudding into my mouth halfway, Wanda had stopped talking to Ian, and Doc turned a bright red.

"I'm going to -" he started.

"No. You shouldn't leave just because _she_ walked into the room. You have just as much right to be here as her. She needs to stop being a baby about me having a baby." Every time Sharon walked into a room and Doc was there, he would always step out, as if he were the scum of the planet.

"Maybe you and Doc should have a fake fight and pretend not to be friends anymore," Kyle suggested.

"That would just be completely ignoring the problem, Kyle. Besides, I don't want to pretend to fight. I'm not that great of an actress, anyway."

Now that the Doc argument was settled, Ian stared at me, pointedly. "So. How are things with you and…"

"Not good. Worse now." Wand and I had just tried plan E on Fords and he was still not very happy about it, so he wasn't eating with us. I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks. It seemed that Doc and I both had relationship problems that caused awkward moments, and blushes of the reddest kind.

"Now that I think about it, how far along are you?"

"About four months, I guess. We can't exactly get precise here. Felix is trying to make the ultrasound run on something else other than electricity so we can use it, but it's very slow going, and not high on anyone's priority list." I lazily played with the small amount of food that lay on my plate, uneaten."Fords is still being an idiot," I said to myself. Nobody would have heard it. "Well, I'm going to go see if he hates me," I said matter-of-factly.

"You say that as if it isn't a big deal." Wanda looked both concerned and confused.

"I know that no matter what happens, he'll forgive me eventually. He forgave me for being a human, after all."

"As if that's some sort of crime," muttered Kyle.

I rolled my eyes. I walked along the dark corridors of the hideout, running my hand along the walls. _'Let's see… how are Wanda and I going to execute plan F?'_

I had a vague idea of where Fords was hiding out and thinking. And sure enough, when I arrived there, there was Fords. The storage room. Apparently, he had heard Wanda's tale of when she first come here. Evidently, she had done a lot of hiding out in this room, feeling she didn't deserve to be here. _'Is that how Fords feels? As if he doesn't belong here? That would make sense, for him to feel a stranger in his own body. How… other-worldly. But then again, everything with Fords is other-worldly.'_

"Hey."

He looked up, appearing to be a lot older than his body actually was. I was surprised for what must have been the hundreth time today. I didn't know how old Fords actually was. Wanda was easily over a thousand years old, so was Fords younger or older? I shook off that thought for the time being and focused on the problem at hand: Fords needed to come to his senses, and we needed to feel more like a couple again. True, when we argued it wasn't like other couples arguing, but it still left a nagging sensation in my brain that told me something was wrong.

"Why are you so stubborn?" he asked, seeming genuinly curious.

"It's in my nature I guess."

"Human nature, or Alexandria nature?"

"Alexandria nature. Plus, I'm even more exceptionally stubborn around you."

"And why is that?"

"Because you just affect me more than other people."

"Why are you so stubborn about this, though?"

"Really, Fords, for all this 'I'm not human' business you sure are just as dense as the average human male. You need to accept the fact that you are becoming a father. And I'm going all the way to plan Z!"

"Plan Z?"

"I tried plan E on you earlier." He seemed to sort of get it after my brief explanation. "Why won't you listen to me anyway? Don't you usually let me win fights simply because you're too lazy to fight?" I asked innocently. I knew the lazy part would irk him a little. What I really wanted was for him to really let go of his emotions, like a dam suddenly exploding and letting all the water rush through.

"I'm not too lazy to fight. I just don't like fighting with you, and because you seem so determined to win, that it would be a crime for me to win."

"Is that so? Well, I won't hold it against you right now if you win. Go ahead give me your all."

He was shaking. I had never seen him so angry. Souls, when around fight instigating humans, could get just as pissed as we could, and as much as I hate to say this, I wanted him to be pissed and tell me what was really up.

"You really want to know what I'm thinking?" I nodded. He took a deep quakey breath. "You tell me you're pregnant and you expect me to be okay with it? I wasn't okay with it! My host just got you pregnant, and I'm not okay with it! I can't have children, that's just the way it is, and you're up in my face telling me you don't care when you should care! You didn't even tell me you wanted children! And then, you wanted me to leave with you so you could raise your child in an environment like this! Where half the people hate me _and_ you! I feel like I'm living among a totally different species! I _know_ that I don't belong here! I don't even know if I love you anymore! You get into fights with anyone who so much as looks at me funny, and I'm just sick of it all!"

Now I was the one shaking with emotion. (Damn hormones.) "Fine then. You can leave if you want to. I'm not stopping you." Then I left so he wouldn't see me cry.

**Author's Note: Sorry. I had a major case of writer's block. And just so you know, I'm never going to say any of the plans, aside from Z, mostly because I'm too lazy to think any of them up. I know, you all probably hate me for the cliffhanger!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Fords P.O.V.**

The pain in my chest ate away at me when I saw how upset Alexandria was. Did she, in her mind, really consider me the father of the child growing inside of her? What was I supposed to do? I didn't know how long I sat in that room thinking.

I walked sullenly, and unwittingly, towards Doc. He was at some sort of desk that had been 'jacked' for him over a year ago. "Fords." He seemed barely able to maintain a cordial voice towards me.

"Doc," I acknowleged.

"Were you aware that a few hours ago, Alex came here, crying?"

"I knew she was crying, if that's what you're asking."

"And you were the cause of it?"

"We argued. I simply told her the truth."

"Well, she's gone."

"What?"

"She's gone. She's left. She's not here anymore at the hideout. She stole a car and we have no idea where she is now."

I froze and my muscles stiffened. Gone. Gone. Gone. The word echoed in my head a multitude of times and I felt steamy hot tears flow down my face. Gone. I didn't trust my voice to be comprehensible, so I stayed silent. The woman I love. And I did love her. I had only said I didn't in that situation because I was so upset.

"Do you know where she could be?" he asked.

"No. No idea." My voice did shake when I talked, but I was understandable.

"You need to stop acting the way you are, Fords. I don't think Alex can take much more of it."

"_I _can't take much more of this."

"What's so wrong with her thinking you are the father of her baby anyway?"

"I'm not able to handle it. Being in charge of a child! It doesn't come instinctively to me the way it does for you!"

"You think parenthood comes instinctively to humans? Well, it doesn't. Either way, you can learn. All she wants is for you to be there for her."

I ran my shaking hands through my hair. "She thinks I hate her for this."

"Do you?"

"I don't hate her. I don't even hate living here. What I hate is seeing her ostracized for being my partner. I do sort of hate your partner, though."

Doc gave a short chuckle. "There are a lot of people who do hate her. What do you think she's doing right now."

"Wait, Sharon?"

"No, Alex."

"If I had to take a guess, I would say that she's off thinking somewhere."

"Thinking?"

"Once, when she and Felix got in a fight, she up and left. Just like now. She flew all the way Egypt to look at the pyramids and clear her head. She came back a few days later and made up with Felix."

"Would she be in Egypt now?" Doc looked panicked. Everyone was probably worried that people would discover she was human.

"Not likely. She once told me that there were a lot of places in the world she wanted to see." I paused. "I am so sorry for making her feel like she needed to run away from things like this."

"I just hope that you're right and that she'll come back."

* * *

That night, I didn't sleep well at all, and I dreamed of Dria. Most of them were random and off the wall, and definitely not rated G, but one of them was a memory.

_"Dria! Are you okay?"_

_"Yeah." She had just walked into the apartment they shared with Felix._

_"Where were you! You just disappeared!" He flung his arms around her. "I was worried about you!"_

_"I know."_

_"Where were you?"_

_"Egypt. I've always wanted to see the pyramids, the sphinx…"_

_"You're insane."_

_"I know, and it's so fun, too." _

_Later that day, he and Dria had been sitting on the building roof, watching the sun set._

_"Any other places you'd like to go on vacation?"_

_"I have an entire list. Russia, Japan, Romania, England… need I go on?"_

_"Anyplace in America?" he had chuckled._

_Her face scrunched up in concentration. "San Fransisco, maybe?"_

_He gave her a questioning look._

_"Well, I hear it's really nice, and Egypt was the first time I've ever seen salt water."_

_"So you want to see the ocean?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Tell you what, for every year we're together from now on, we'll go on a vacation somewhere, your choice." _

_She had laughed at it and nodded._

_But, they never had a chance. Right before the second year they had been together, Alexandria had told Fords that she was pregnant._

I woke up sweating. Dria may have disappeared on me again, but this time, I knew she was. She was in San Fransisco.

**Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter, but this seemed like a good place to stop. This is actually the first story of mine where I am completely winging the plot. I have no idea how it's going to turn out. Anyway, before too long, there's going to be a poll up for the name and gender of Fords and Alex's baby, so be sure to keep an eye out for that.**


	16. Chapter 16

I ran through the halls of the hideout, my dream having banished any grogginess from my mind. I ran into, literally, Jared. "Jared! I know where Dria is and we have to find her!"

He made a face. "I don't know Fords… If she's close, then maybe we could." He sounded extremely reluctant, which I didn't get, but was going to ignore for now.

"She's in San Francisco," I said desperately. Jared sighed and began to lead me to Jeb.

"I sure hope that if we go there, that she's there and you aren't trying to lead us to some seeker friends. I won't let Melanie have another soul put in her!"

"What are you talking about - ?"

"Shut up! Everyone here knows how you treated Alex, and now she's gone. Jeb won't let anyone else be at the mercy of the souls, and that means he's not going to be in the mood for some cross-country trip to San Francisco."

Everything he said was right. If anyone besides me even left the hideout there was a possibility of being taken by seekers. And what he said about Alex was true too: it was my fault. Everything was my fault and I had to fix it, one way or another.

Jeb regarded me with an almost angry expression. Had everyone head about my spat with Dria? He was grumbling gruffly when he answered me. "Fords, I'm sorry. I want to find Alex, and everyone's worried about her, but we can't go all the way to San Francisco. That would be endangerin' everyone, and I just don't want to be responsible for it. I really am sorry. If Alex comes back, that's great. And if she doesn't, then she will be missed dearly."

How could they? Dria could be in danger, captured by souls, and could be close to having a soul put in her, and they would be none-the-wiser.

There was only a small number of people in the world I could think of who could empathize, or even sympathize. So I went to the first two that I could find. Namely, Ian and Wanda. "You have to help me! Dria is gone, and nobody is willing to do anything about it!"

Ian looked at me suspiciously. "Weren't you the one who caused her to leave in the first place?"

"I made a mistake! I was angry with her and I made a stupid mistake! I've never felt so unhinged with my emotions until I met Dria, and then when I came here it got even worse. I feel like I'm falling apart from the inside out and it's made even worse by the fact that she's not here! I need her."

They both looked less upset at me, anyway. "Look, Fords, I know that you need to do this, but…"

"What if Fords and I both go?" Wanda suggested quietly. "We're both souls, so it won't be suspicious."

Let's just say that Ian….looked suspicious. "I'm not saying I don't want to help you Fords…" He trailed off.

"Fine. If you aren't going to help me get out of here, then at least do me one favor."

"What?"

"Let people figure out that I'm gone on their own. Don't tell them what you know."

He nodded. "I can definitely do that."

Okay, now I need to get the balls to steal a car.

* * *

I was in one of the storage areas, where they kept the car, and when I entered, Jared was there. "I figured you would go this far. But let me tell you, stealing this car is a bad idea and will only come back to hurt you later."

"I need this car," I said desperately, hoping that Jared would just let me be, because the rather large man scared me a little.

"I'm not letting you steal this, Fords."

I walked up to him so I could plead. "I love her. I need to know that she's all right!"

"You can wait for her. She's lived in the world of souls before, and she can pass for one really easily."

"No."

"No?"

I was tired of being pushed around and waiting for the verdict on _my_ life to be passed by these humans. I had to start making my own decisions from now on, and I wasn't going to let anyone make them for me. Unexpectedly, for Jared at least, my fist went flying into his face and before he could react, I took some kind of tool and hit him where it would knock him out, but not cause damage.

My hands trembled as I turned the key in the car. I had never been that violent before, and it came as a total surprise to me that I was even capable. Well, I had once heard Dria say that humans will do anything when they're frantic enough. She was right. My brain had gone into a sort of frenzy every single time that I had been denied the option to find Dria.

I wasn't going to stand for this.

**Ian's P.O.V.**

Fords had been gone for over a week now, and things weren't looking good. All the people here who were true soul-haters were showing their true colors and going all-out against Fords and Alex. Incidences were happening all over the hideout and nobody felt safe. I stayed up at night with a gun to make sure nobody came in my room to hurt Wanda.

Two days ago, Felix had been found brutally beaten almost to death. He was still in the hospital with Doc, not doing well at all, though Doc was doing his best. And Doc himself had had a threatening message written on his wall saying that if he treated another soul, that he would be in the same boat as they were.

Another day passed and Jeb came up to me. "Well now, I'm guessin' you knew where Fords was goin'. As far as I'm concerned the past is the past and we need to focus on the problem at hand. Now I'm not above shootin' people, but things are gettin' out of hand and I'm not always around to see when there's mischief afoot. I don't want any souls to be dyin' here under my watch, but if we don't do anything, that's exactly what's gonna happen! During the day, Wanda and Sunny will both have someone trustworthy with them at all times. And at night, they're gonna sleep in the same room, while someone keeps watch." He paused and his eyes bored into me. "You think Fords is gonna bring seekers or get caught?"

"Neither of them will. He just needs to see her and make sure she's okay."

"Well, I was mad at first, but I hope those crazy kids find each other, kiss, and make up. They shouldn't split just over a little fight. 'Sides, tensions run high for everyone when there's a pregnant woman around, and Fords has more than a couple reasons to be a little disoriented. How long before he finds her do you think?"

"It's a couple days there. A couple days to find her. And a couple days back. I don't think they'll be more than two weeks."

"I hope so. But once, they get back, there'll be even more dissention in the ranks and chaos for me to deal with!"

He walked off and I walked off to the bathing room where I was ganged up on by at least five people. They rammed me against a wall and I managed to punch one of them. However, that did nothing to slow my attackers down. I felt multiple large, hard rocks hit me all over my body, causing bone fractures.

I woke up in the hospital and groaned. I hurt all over. Doc looked up from his work and sighed. "They found you six hours ago."

"They probably just beat me up to get to Wanda. Has anyone seen her?"

"Melanie's been with her, and let me tell you: she is a mess."

"Will somebody send her up here?"

"I'm not going to leave you alone, and most people are scared to go anywhere here. Those who are anti-soul sure are doing well with the scare factor." He paused for a moment and chuckled.

"What?"

"I don't know why, but I just realized that Felix has been getting a lot visits from Lily. It's just an odd time to think of that is all."

"I'm telling you. Fords and Alex sure better get back soon. Then at least things will change and the feeling of fear might ebb away."

* * *

**Fords P.O.V.**

I had been in the lovely city of San Francisco for almost a week now, scouring the beaches looking for Dria. I wouldn't give up yet, even though I was getting pretty discouraged. My energy right now couldn't be tarnished.

I had decided to take a rest, on a very deserted beach, and let my feet be washed in the surf when I hear a gasp. I whipped my head around and saw Dria standing there.

I hadn't noticed at the hideout, but she was definitely beginning to show. I attempted to run over to her and apologize but it didn't work very well considering I feel flat on my face in the sand. When I got up brushing myself off, I noticed that she was somewhere between tears and laughter trying to decide which one she wanted.

"Dria!" I managed to stay on my feet this time. "Dria! Alex! I'm so sorry!" She didn't exactly acknowlege my words, but I kept going anyway. "I was an idiot and I can't believe what I said. I love you so much and I didn't mean anything I said."

"What about this child no being yours?" She now had the skeptical face I knew so well. It calmed me down because I wasn't used to seeing her look weak.

"I've gotten some good advice and changed my mind. I was confused and disoriented and please forgive me!" I was barely coherent but she seemed to understand.

"Did you jack the car to get here?"

"Funny story. I punched Jared."

"Interesting. But you had to know I'd come back eventually and forgive you."

"I needed to know you were safe. I couldn't sleep knowing the love of my life and my unborn child could potentially be in danger."

Her face softened. "You always were such a pansy. And that's what I loved about you!" She came up and gave me a hug. "It's what I still love about you," she whispered.

"I was afraid you wouldn't forgive."

"I don't usually hold grudges."

"That's the most ridiculous lie I've ever heard," I said calmly and she laughed.

"The baby started kicking while I was here." I felt my eyes grow wide, and I felt sick to my stomach. _Just remember what Doc said: This doesn't come naturally to anyone. _

I felt our child kicking.

Unfortunately, I was going to have to face the music in a few days time when we had to go back to the hideout.

**Author's Note: Okay, so to make up for last time's short chapter and the long wait for an update, I've given you almost 2,000 words this time. I know it doesn't really compensate, but I hoped you like the chapter! I'm not really good at the mushy stuff so tell me whether it sucked or not…**


	17. Chapter 17

**Alexandria**

"So, how much trouble are we going to be in when we get back? Any estimates?" I asked.

"Probably something along the lines of locking us up until they've determined that we haven't set the seekers on them. Try not to let your temper get the best of you. That would be counterproductive."

"As long as I don't see Sharon, I can guarantee that there will be no temper losing."

"Good."

"Besides, at this point, it may be bad for the baby for me to be getting into fist fights." I sighed theatrically.

"You think?" he said sarcastically as he snorted.

"Fords, are you actually using sarcasm?"

"It's something you pick up." I had always thought that Fords would survive the humans in the hideout with his usual methodic manner. But, I guess that sarcasm would be a good way to cope in the slightly harsh environment that surrounded the hideout.

We were speeding the direction of the hideout, coming closer with every minute that passed. In all honesty, I dreaded the moment that I would enter that place again. Of course, _I_ would manage to screw things up… again. Let's make a list shall we?

1. I got pregnant.

2. I made Fords move to a human population with me.

3. My stupid pregnancy hormones made me overemotional.

4. I argued with Fords and pushed him to get angry.

5. I got overemotional again.

6. I ran away.

I don't know if it's just me, but that seems like a long list. Well, I never claimed to be perfect and Fords and I weren't arguing for the first time in months, so I certainly wasn't about to complain. I also found that I was quite a bit less angry and emotional now that I wasn't stressed about fords anymore.

We pulled off the highway, and gave each other's hands death grips. Sucking in air, we pulled up to the hideout, having avoided the seekers throughout our entire excursion. At least that went as planned.

When we entered, we were met by a vast and diverse array of faces. None of them happy. Some were concerned, some were angry, some were nervous, but no one was happy to see a 'parasite' and his partner make it back alive. At least, no one in this crowd.

I chose not to feel hurt by this. I _refused_ to let it get to me, and my face didn't betray me as Fords and I walked slowly to talk to Jeb. I think that he, Fords, was happy to think that I didn't care about the looks that people were giving us.

I couldn't blame the people here, though. I had done a stupid and dangerous thing, and it would definitely take a while before they all began to trust me again. I expected that and I respected it, too.

Surprisingly, Jeb didn't look angry when he saw us. "So, you're back are you?" We nodded slowly, cautious. "Kissed and made up?" We nodded again. "Well, then, I hope things can go back to normal again so that you two can go back to work." The confused looks on our faces must have been enough, because he said, "The only reason I didn't send a bunch of people to look for you Alex, was because I wouldn't ask them to sacrifice for you, and I know you wouldn't ask that of the people here, too. However, Fords is perfectly welcome to make a trip out into the world of souls. Although, I'm quite disappointed that you didn't bring back any souvenirs. "

He wasn't going to lock us up? "But, you guys have come back to an even more dangerous place to live. Things have gone a little crazy since you guys have left. A lot of people are taking an anti-soul agenda, and those rumors that you and Felix are souls have started circulating again. Ian was attacked, Felix was attacked, and Doc was told that if he treated another soul, he would be in the same boat as the souls. Things are a mess right now."

"Felix was attacked? Is he still in the hospital?"

"Yeah. You wanna see him?"

"Yes."

I raced over there, only to see Lily sitting with Felix, talking to him. That man… I walked into the room, Fords following suit. "Alex." Felix had turned his head, and I could tell that he had been very worried about me.

Lily got up and said, "I'll leave for a little bit."

I made sure she had left before I started talking. "So Felix, did you even try to fight off your attackers or was all part of your devious plan?"

He grinned deviously. "I did try to fight them off, just not very hard. And as far as my plans go, they worked didn't they?"

I laughed. "At least things are going well for you. Things aren't going too well here, apparently." He nodded. "I heard Ian was here at one point."

"He was." The voice came from across the room. I turned to see Doc, with a bruise on his face.

"Doc, your…?"

"Face? Yes. Sharon slapped me during an argument."

"I'm sorry. I think I caused that."

"You didn't make her slap me, Alex. I'm happy to see you're all right."

"I know how to act around souls. And they're a hell of a lot easier to live with than humans. That's for sure. How long, in your honest opinion of course, do you think it will take for everything to go back to normal."

"You mean for things to stop being violent? I don't know. All I know is that you and everyone else who is a friend of souls better be on the lookout. Melanie, Jared, Kyle, Sunny, Ian and Wanda are all sharing a room so that no one gets hurt. They take turns being the lookout."

"Why Melanie and Jared?"

"Because they've been associated with souls in the past. Plus, Melanie and Wanda are best friends."

"Well, I guess we're having a slumber party, then. See you around, Doc."

* * *

A couple months passed, and things didn't get much better. At night, in the room we shared with all of the others, we could hear people passing by. If I were in any other situation, I might think I was being paranoid, but the others heard it too.

Melanie, Jared, Kyle, and Ian taught me how the gun works, in case I ever need to use it, and I really hope things don't come to that.

Melanie got attacked and Jared was in an awful mood for weeks. Sometimes he would stare at me or Fords in a hostile way, but I knew he didn't mean it. He just really wanted someone to physically take out his anger one. And, since he didn't have someone to punch, he decided just to glare at us for the time being.

At breakfast, we were all talking quietly. So quiet, it was almost a whisper. "So Melanie, how's the leg?" I asked this because the bone had been bruised when she was attacked.

"It's getting better. Doc gave us a quick how to on how to treat it, and gave us everything we needed." Doc couldn't treat any of openly or properly nowadays, so we had to keep our visits to him a secret.

"Well I hope it's not too painful."

"It isn't that bad."

Everybody in our little group was on at least decent terms with each other, which was much better terms than anyone else was with the people outside out group. I'm sure that not everyone who wasn't being terrorized by the 'racists' as I liked to call them. Anyone who wasn't a racist, or wasn't being terrorized by a racist was probably just scared that the racists would do the same to them.

I need to go to the bathroom before work started, so I headed to the latrine.

As I walked, I began to, not for the first time, regret coming here. I was almost to the eight month mark, and this was a dangerous place for a baby to be born.

I walked into a darker patch in the hideout, when someone jumped me. It was all a blur, and my mind had a difficult time keeping up. My fighting ability had dwindled over the time I had spent here, and I was almost defenseless against my attacker.

I struggled against their vice grips, and I felt like I was going to die right then and there. But then voices apart from those of my attackers carried through the passageway. I was on the ground, and one of my attackers decided to give me one hard kick in the belly to prove their point.

I was bleeding. I didn't know from where, but I could feel the wet stick blood on the ground.

Voices were shouting. "She's hemorrhaging!" I felt pain in my abdomen. What would happen to me?

**Author's Note: I'm really sorry for the long wait for an update. Although, sorry doesn't really seem to cover it. However, I'm going to try to update one more time before christmas break. No guarantees, though. One last reminder, this is your last chance to vote on the name and gender of Alex's and Fords' baby, so get to it if you still want to vote. Otherwise, there is a clear winner. Happy Holidays.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Fords P.O.V.**

I was doing my part, helping plant new vegetables, and continuously glancing nervously as the gun that Jeb held. I knew that the only reason that Jeb was holding it in such a menacing way was for my protection, but I still didn't like the gun. I was also a little unnerved by the fact that Alexandria was working in the kitchen and I was working out here. True, she did have the protection of Kyle and Ian, but that did almost nothing to ease my qualms. Out of nowhere, Kyle stumbled into the field-of-sorts. "Jeb, Fords, it's Alexandria."

I sprinted over to him. "Where is she?"

"With Doc. There was so much blood." I stopped breathing. Blood.

"Did you see who did this to her?" Jeb was over here and I could see his finger dancing around the trigger.

"Yeah. We didn't catch any of them, but we remember their faces. There were five of them."

"Good. I want you to tell me who they are, and a trial will be held, and then they're out of my house!" I had never heard Jeb this angry before. But, I couldn't think about that now, I bolted in the direction of the hospital. I needed to see my Dria.

I was panting and out of breath when I reached there, and I almost vomited from the ridiculous amount of blood that covered the room. And Doc was in the middle of it all, covered in blood himself, and trying his best. "Fords, I need to do a C section. Are you okay with that?" I nodded numbly. But, after a moment or two, my instincts as a healer set in and I rushed over to see what I could do, especially to stop the bleeding.

* * *

Eventually, we managed to stop the hemorrhaging, and our next step was to see if we could get a blood transfusion going. Unfortunately, here there wasn't an endless supply of blood like there was at all the hospitals I had worked at in the past, so we had to quickly find someone willing to donate. Thankfully, Felix had heard about the incident and was currently sitting in the room, ready to do whatever we asked him to do. So, with blood dripping into Dria's arm, I collapsed on one of the cots and began to breathe deeply for the first time since I had heard that she was in the hospital. Beads of sweat rested in my forehead. "Fords." It was Doc and he was holding a small bundle in his arms. "Uhhh, Fords, do you?" I nodded slowly and he plopped the bundle into my arms.

It didn't move, but Doc assured me that my baby was fine. I stared at it, soaking up its features. A pink face. Dark hair, like Dria's and Felix's. However, the physical feature that I was most concerned about, I was unable to see at the moment. It's eyes were closed, so I couldn't see if my child's eyes had the same, soul-like shimmer that Alexandria had. I needed to know. Because, if it had eyes like that, it would first of all guarantee a certain amount of safety for it, but it would also make me feel like the child was sort of mine. As crazy and almost selfish as it may sound, I really wanted the child to be more than just my host's child. I wanted it to be _my _child. "Boy or girl?" I asked.

"Girl. Everything seems fine, despite her being born early. You're lucky. There were no complications with the C-section, either. And Alex is doing fine as well. She'll probably wake up before too long, because of the blood donations." A couple others, besides Felix, had been able to donate blood.

"What's going to happen to the people who did this to Dria?" The hatred for myself had harmed the woman who was, for all practical purposes, my wife. Not only that, but their hatred could have killed my unborn child. How is a hatred so intense even capable of being harbored inside a living person. And how could a small number of people be blamed for the acts of an entire race. I didn't condone what my race did. I felt nothing but pity towards the human race and those whose bodies were taken. But I couldn't exist without a host. That much was fact and it made me think of something Dria had once said to me.

_Flashback_

_"How is it any humans could possibly survive? You're clinging to thin air." We had been traveling for one day now, with Felix._

_"Fords, one thing you may soon understand when we find some humans is that self-preservation trumps all other instincts. All living things have the instinct to keep living for as long as they can."_

_"Didn't humans used to commit suicide?"_

_"There are exceptions to every rule. But, in general, a person will even do things that they despise if it meant that they would survive."_

_I had paused for a moment. "What if we meet humans and they hate me? In some ways I even hate myself, so how is it you don't hate me. How is it you don't hate the entire race of souls."_

_"Like I said earlier. A person will do even things that they despise if it meant that they would survive. I realize that not all souls enjoy the thought of killing another creature's mental presence, but they do it because they have to. It's as simple as that." An unsettled look passed over her face._

_"Something wrong?"_

_"Well. I haven't been around any humans besides Felix for a long time. And to be quite honest, they might be infuriating. Especially if they don't like you. But, Fords, I promise that I'll protect you. No human will lay a finger on you so long as I am still among the living."_

_End Flashback_

She, Dria, who surely knew how to hold a grudge could forgive my people, so how was it that there were some who could forgive, but others who couldn't. I just didn't get humans. But then I remembered how some souls were like that one seeker who wanted all existing humans under soul control and hated humans. And then there were souls like me who had long ago realized that humans were usually helpless against souls, and were not something to be feared. Many souls felt compassion for the one-time rulers of the earth.

Doc stared at me for a moment. "If Jeb catches the culprits, then one of two things will most likely happen. One: they are allowed to live, but are forced to leave the hideout. Two: they are killed. Given that we're a pretty close-knit group here, he'll most likely go with option one. You're lucky that things changed after Melanie and Wanda came here. Otherwise, the culprits may have gotten off scot-free. There have been multiple times when Wanda nearly died, and this was when Melanie and her were sharing the same body, and Melanie was conscious inside."

"So Wanda and Melanie were sort of like Felix and his host? Except, instead of the soul being in charge and the human stuck in the mind, it was the human in charge, and the soul stuck in the mind."

"Yeah. Things have changed a lot since then. Yeah," he sighed. "How things have changed. This time will be historical you know? The soul-human couples will be famous. You've made huge steps for a brighter future. When souls first invaded, it was unheard of for them to actually interact with humans, except when necessary. Then, they started leaving soul society, and living with humans voluntarily. Then they started having romantic relationships with souls. And now, they're having children together. It's happening quickly." I stared at the sleeping face of my daughter. She didn't know how important she was for the future. She didn't know that her parents had been born on completely different planets. She didn't know that I wasn't her biological father. But she would make a difference. There was hope for the human race, and it was in relationships like mine.

She woke up and opened her eyes. They were the same color as mine. Exactly. Including the silvery shine. I held her even closer, if it was possible.

**Author's Note: Not a really long chapter, I know. But there was a tie for names and I didn't want to have to unfairly choose one. So far it's tied between Aura and Iris. So, if you could vote between those two, that would be help. There wasn't a lot of dialogue, either, I hope no one minds. I'll try to update again, soon. We're heading into the final arc here, so I'm almost done with this story. Less than ten chapters left.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Alexandria**

I slowly gained consciousness, moaning as I sat up in bed. It had been morning when I had been attacked, but from all appearances, it was now late afternoon. I could barely remember what happened. Blood. Pain. People attacking me. That was just about it. Before I had time to collect myself, I heard Fords call my name in relief. "Dria!" He gave me a hug that almost crushed me but I didn't want him to let go.

"What's happened since I was attacked. " My voice was really hoarse, and I wondered what could have happened to cause that and the discomfort in my throat.

"Kyle and some others identified your attackers." He paused and sighed deeply. "It won't upset you to hear who will it?" I shook my head adamantly, because I wanted to know. "It was Sharon, Lucina, Maggie, George, and Harold." None of the names shocked me. The women had all been borderline hostile or outright hostile towards Fords and myself. Neither of the ,men had been exactly what you could call friendly.

"When's the trial?"

"Day after tomorrow. Jeb was hoping you would testify against them."

I looked down in utter embarrassment. "I don't remember any of the faces. It was slightly dark, and they snuck up on me." I flinched. It suddenly occurred to me that I wasn't pregnant anymore. "Fords…"

"Our daughter's fine, and we're especially lucky because she has eyes like yours." He gave me a gentle kiss on the head. "Doc is just looking her over again to make sure he didn't miss anything in his previous examination." I calmed down and we sat together in a comfortable silence for a little while longer.

"I was insane with worry," he whispered. "Both of you were in danger, and I - I thought I might lose you. It was horrendous and you're covered in bruises. It wrenches my entire body when I see you like this. I'm ready for Jeb to expel those heathens from here. I dislike them, and I think it might even be close to loathing."

"A soul? Loathing someone? This is something else, entirely."

"I love you Dria, and they hurt you. It's only natural that I would be upset." He pulled me even tighter. "By the way, what do you want to name her?"

"I want to underline her most defining feature: her eyes. How about Iris? I think it's a delightful name and it has to do with her eyes."

"Iris sounds nice."

* * *

For the second time since I had arrived here, I was filing into a room to witness a trial. But this time, I knew that Jeb had already made up his mind, because his face was absolutely livid. The perpetrators had a sheen of sweat covering their faces. They knew that they didn't stand a chance now.

Jeb began his trial. "All of you remember when Wanda was attacked by Kyle, minus a couple of new members of this community. Now, those of you who were here then should also remember what I said would happen if someone was attacked here. Well, there have been a lot of attacks and injuries, including one that could have lead to a miscarriage. So, I'll carry out my threat from before: they will get a burial and not a tribunal. I'm inclined to go with a death penalty."

"You said anyone who hurt _Wanda_ would get a burial," Maggie hissed out Wanda's name as if it were a dirtiest swear word ever uttered on the planet. "It doesn't have a scratch on it." Ian sprang from his seat in indignation, offended by the way Maggie was referring to his partner.

"All in favor of the death penalty?" Jeb asked. Most of the room raised their hands…except for five people. That included myself, Fords, Felix, Sunny, and Wanda. "Well, then , I'm inclined to go with the majority."

"Wait!" I stood up. "I dislike, even loathe some of the people who are on trial here, but I'm not in favor of putting them to death. However, I have no objections to the second worst, possibly worst, case scenario for them. I vote that we boot them out of here. Then, they'll be at the mercy of the elements, and possibly seekers. If they're captured and have souls take over their bodies, well, they fear that more than death, I'd wager. If they're lucky, they'll stumble upon a pocket of humans who don't house a soul among them. I also suggest this because it will give them another thing to think about.

"Fords is the one who came up with this idea," I continued. "It would kill them to know that they owed a soul their lives. The only reason I'm the one speaking about this idea is because I have a louder voice than Fords. So, Jeb, what do you think?"

"An interesting idea, I'll give you that. Let's have another vote. Death penalty versus exile from the hideout. Death penalty first." Half the people raised their hands. "Exile." Half the people raised their hands, including me. "So, it appears we have exactly fifty percent voting either way, so my vote is the deciding vote." He paused, to think things over and make his decision. "I think I'll go with exile. Sharon, Lucina, Maggie, George and Harold. All of you have to leave here and if I catch any of you on my turf again, I'll shoot you. Lucina, your children will stay here. There is no reason they should suffer for your mistakes."

Jeb and the bigger stronger men led them out of the hideout and there was no questioning was they were condemned to. Either they found another hideout, they were found by seekers, or they would die. At least, I thought to myself, we gave them a fighting chance. Of course, it was highly unlikely, maybe a one percent chance, that they would be found by seekers. We were in the middle of the desert - why on earth would seekers be out here looking for humans? Under normal circumstances, humans would never survive out here.

Afterwards, I went to Doc. "What are you going to do? Sharon was your partner and I know you loved her, despite some personality differences between you."

"She wasn't the woman I thought she was. I used to understand how people hated souls, and I still do, to an extent. But, to project that hatred onto innocent people and souls…" he shook his head in apparent disgust. "I can't love someone like that. Don't worry about me, I can get through it." He put his hand on my shoulder. "Souls and the people who care about them, just showed me what type of a person Sharon was. You shouldn't blame yourself." I hugged him tightly.

"I'm here for you, no matter what you need. And I am sorry that you lost the person you loved in all this."

" 'Love is like a river, always changing, but always finding you again somewhere down the road.' I forget where I heard that, but from now on, that's my motto."

* * *

For the next few months, things were quiet at the hideout. The attacks stopped, and there was peace. But of course, these weren't times of peace for the human race.

It was an average day at the hideout, and I was making soap with some Lily, Wanda, Sunny, and Melanie when we all heard a commotion going on and saw a couple people running around in a panicked manner. We all rushed out of the room we were in, just as scared as everyone else, expecting the worst. I had to be careful because Iris was on my back in a cradleboard of sorts.

We arrived at the mess hall and almost everyone was there. Jeb stepped forward. "There are seekers outside, looking for us. If they keep looking, eventually they'll find what they want. There are easily seventy of them. We'd never win."

Fords ran up to me. "Is there anything that can be done. We have souls living here."

He shook his head. "I don't know. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Us souls will be okay, but as for the rest of you…" We embraced each other tightly, emulating the couple around us.

Everyone was waiting for the doomsday moment when the seekers burst in and captured us.


	20. Chapter 20

The tension in the room was thick as the souls tried to keep everybody calm and keep the situation under control. Everyone was clustered into a couple groups, as Jeb tried desperately to think of what to do. "Fords, Wanda, and Sunny, I need you to tell what to do. They'll be sending too many seekers for us to fight off, and escape is out of the question. If you don't know what to do, then we're finished."

The three souls conversed for a few minutes, as the seekers drew closer, and finally Fords stepped forward with their best answer. "Make sure that there are no weapons here, they'll see you as dangerous, then. In all honesty, all humans should sit back and say nothing. We three, along with Felix, because he looks like a soul, will stand at the front and try to talk with the seekers before they can take anyone. We do have the element of surprise on our side, because, I can assure you, they will not be expecting any souls to be residing here."

"Well, then, we'll hide all our weapons, let you three take over, and hope for the best."

Fords and I sat there for another five minutes, holding each other, and Iris, close. "I won't let them do anything to you, Dria," he promised.

"Don't make any promises you can't keep," I whispered

"That's exactly what I thought when you first brought me here. But I was wrong. You did what you promised and now we're here, and more importantly, we're happy. Souls may not feel the negative emotions humans feel when we're around each other, but we don't feel the positive emotions nearly as strongly. I can say, with certainty, that I would never feel this happy if I weren't here with you and Iris. _That_ is why I'm going to do whatever it takes to protect my family." He kissed me and Iris both on the forehead and then walked slowly to the front of the entire group.

The seekers had entered, but they weren't expecting the scene that they had stumbled upon.

Humans were huddled together, as scared as they had ever been in their whole lives, with souls standing protectively in front of them. Wanda stepped forward first. "Please don't hurt them. They - "

"What have you done to these poor souls?" demanded a male seeker.

"They haven't done anything to us - "

He took Wanda's shoulder. "I know you're in there." He seemed to think he was speaking to a soul. "We're going to put you in another body, so you can live peacefully again."

"Stop interrupting her, please." Fords had stepped in on her behalf. "All of the souls residing here are in complete control of their bodies, including myself. Hear us out."

"No. We have strict orders to capture all humans here."

"What were your orders for all the souls you find?"

The male seeker flushed. "We weren't aware that we would find any souls here."

"I see. Then it is all within your jurisdiction as to what you do with us. There have been souls living here for quite a while, and we all have connections to the humans here - both friendly and romantic. This is our home."

Fords' words caused the seeker to pause and look at the humans around the room, assessing us. Needless to say, we weren't exactly what he expected. He wanted to think of us as vicious animals, but that wasn't what he found. What he saw was a room full of people who were scared, with tears flowing down their faces, and that's when he had a small change of heart. Small, but it was enough. "You're all coming with me."

"But -"

"Wait. The humans will be treated humanely and their fate is pending upon the human affairs council. They'll interview the souls and determine what happens to the humans from there. That's the best I can offer at this point." The souls nodded, but they didn't look pleased.

"Are you sure there's nothing more you can do?" Sunny's eyes were filling with tears, already mourning our deaths.

"Not with the humans. My orders were very specific. But, what I _can_ do is prevent them from becoming hosts until the council makes a decision. I'm sorry, but can you all please come with us?"

The souls walked over to their partners and everyone began following the seekers out to their air-conditioned vans. This was when the male seeker saw me with Iris.

"Why weren't you up front with the other souls?"

"Because I'm not a soul."

"But your eyes - "

"Are a genetic mutation. I did live among souls for many years, though. And that is where I met my partner." Fords stood near me, with a protective stance.

"You have a child together? I've never heard of souls having a romantic relationship with humans, nevertheless having children with them."

"Things are different here."

"I can see that."

"Seeker, how likely is it that we humans will not have a soul placed in us."

"Very likely, for the adults. The children, however, are very likely to have souls put in them. And the adults…" He sighed uncomfortably. "The adults are likely to be eradicated."

I took one very shaky breath. "I see."

* * *

The car ride was mostly silent, with the occasional person sniffing, or sobbing.

We were taken into Phoenix, Arizona and placed into completely separate rooms. Souls in one, humans in the other.

There, we awaited our fates.

**Author's Note: I realize that this chapter is way too short, but it seemed like a good place to leave off. So, I've read a couple other stories where the author requested that their readers draw their characters and post the drawing on deviantart. I then thought to myself "What an excellent idea!" So, now I am asking anyone who reads this fanfic if they could draw my characters and post on deviantart. If you do this, please tell me!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Fords**

I had always been patient, even by the standards of souls, but today, it seemed, was the one day when that would end. I paced the rooms, feeling the eyes of the others following me silently. The only thing in the world on my mind at that moment was the condition of my wife and child. For the time being, we were all completely in the dark, and I began to imagine how a caged animal might feel: duress.

After we had been waiting for possibly two hours - or so I imagined - guards began taking the others in one hour intervals…and not returning. After being left for last, I was eventually taken to a very small, very square room with a harsh looking soul sitting stiffly inside.

"Fords Deep Waters," she peered at him with almost steely eyes. "I wish I could say that it's a pleasure to meet you, but given the circumstances, I suppose you may not be pleased to meet me." She paused just long enough to gauge his reaction before speaking again. "Of all the souls we've brought here, you are by far the most unique. I've been told by the others that you were decieved by the human Alexandria into thinking she was a soul. After you learned of her true identity, for some inexplicable reason, you decided to stay with her and not turn her in. Within a matter of less than a year, she was accidentally impregnated by your host and forced you, against your will, into the desert, in some ludicrous hope of finding more humans. You both somehow managed to find a band, and there you were abused up until the birth of your host's child, where, shortly after, the location of this hideout was found."

"Your supposed facts are a little skewed." I had to do the most important thing here, which was to stay calm.

"Are they? Well, then, feel free to correct where you see fit."

"Alexandria and I feel in love after meeting a little over a year ago. Yes, I was upset when I learned that she was human, but I realized that it didn't matter, because I loved her. Later, when she found out she was pregnant, she wanted it to be born among humans, and even though I was not entirely sure about it, I went. In the desert we found the band of humans you mentioned, and it wasn't easy, but she and I managed, and we both made good friends with some of the residents. Then my child was born, and your seekers came."

"Your story sounds eerily similar to mine, Fords Deep Waters."

"Not quite similar enough. If you had paid attention, you would realize that our stories are very _dis_similar."

"I must make a few things clear. That human child, is not yours, and you bear no responsibility for it. Another, is that human woman is not, in any way shape or form, in love with you. I was told by the others and you two argued a lot. That is not love. The last thing that needs to be made clear is my vote in the council. I believe that you need a new body, and all humans we found will either be used as hosts or eliminated."

"No!" I stood quickly in a small outburst of true anger and fury, the likes of which I had never before experienced, only to sink to the floor. My voice was so shaky, I couldn't tell if she could hear me or not. "Please, I am begging you to spare them their lives. You know nothing of what I have gone through."

"I know everything. You've been decieved, abused, shunned, and you've been absolutely brainwashed into believe you're in love."

I took one long, slow languishing breath. "A soul cannot possibly know anything of love until they've loved a human. I am sure, more than anything else in the world, of my love for Dria. Yes we've argued, but I've learned that sometimes, the people you argue with most, are those you care about more than anything else in the world. Second, that child is _mine_. I don't care if I'm a soul that is unable to reproduce, I am in fact her father, and therefore, have a responsibility for her. And so, I am begging you to let me see them."

She shook her head. "You will see in time, Fords Deep Waters, just how deluded you are."

* * *

I was put back into a room with the other three: the girls were sobbing and Felix was staring blankly at the wall. I wasn't reacting the same way - all I felt was cold and absolute anguish. "We have to do something," I whispered.

"What?" Sunny asked. "We're stuck in this room, and everyone thinks we're crazy. What could we possibly do?"

"Think like a human."

"There is always a way," Felix mumbled. All the rest of us could do was stare in astonishment. Felix was not one to talk unless he had something important to say. "When I still lived in civilization, I would always do logic puzzles, crossword puzzles, and anything else to challenge my brain. Every time, I would think "this problem is impossible to answer", but eventually, if I thought long enough, and hard enough I would always find the answer. Well I've though long enough, and hard enough, and here's my answer."

* * *

Felix held up a single old credit card and his face spread into a slightly devilish grin. "It's so simple isn't it? But a soul would never think of it, would they?"

"Felix," Wanda said. "I think the stress has gotten to you. How could an old credit card help?"

"Watch and learn, my friends."

It took Felix all of two seconds. He slid the card in the door, they heard a small click, and he opened the door.

"How?" Wanda asked.

"It's an old, but useful, human trick. Now let's go and find the others."

* * *

We quietly snuck through bright white corridors, peeking into every room, desperately hoping to find the rest of our group. We stumbled upon them in the basement, and found that conditions of their room were not as nice as ours. Their treatment, undoubtedly, had not been cruel, but it had certainly not been equal to our own. Their room was chilly, a little damp from monsoon season, and dark. The keys had been placed conveniently by the door, giving any passerby the oppurtunity to free them, which we took advantage of.

Everyone was in the cell and accounted for. Dria ran up to me and threw her arms around me. "How did you escape?" she asked.

I held her even tighter. "I keep my promises."

It was difficult making our way through the building searching for any exit. However, there weren't any to be found. Although the souls had no knowledge of old human tricks of escape, they had made preparations in case any _should_ escape. Around each corner was either a dead end, or even more long hallways to painstakingly shuffle through.

Unsurprisingly, we were soon surrounded by seekers, and we knew that there was not possible escape now. "Humans, we ask that you allow yourselves to be brought back -"

One low, clear voice rang above that of the seeker. "And just what is going on here?" There was a collective gasp among the seekers as a little old man shuffled through the parting crowd. "Why are these humans running amuck?" He looked harmless enough but there was a slight edge to his voice that suggested that he was a little different than the average soul.

"Sir, the humans somehow escaped - "

"Escaped from where? Please tell me, Mr. Carver, that we were not holding humans here against their will. I would be most displeased to learn of this."

"Well, sir, we found these humans - "

"Answer the question, Carver." The edge in his voice became more defined.

"These humans are here against their will."

"Ah, I thought that may be the case." He stared at some of the members of our group. "But you are mistaken, Ice Carver - these are not all human. There are some souls among them. " His eyes rested on Sunny and Wanda as he said this. "But that is beside the point. The point is, is that I'm not pleased that my request has not been followed. Has the council's heads swelled to such a size that they no longer believe they need my advice? I am still the president of the council of human affairs, and I now believe it's my duty to assert this position, don't you Carver?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good! Then we're in agreement! So, let's go."

All of us walked into a large room where there sat ten souls at a long table, one of which the one who had talked to me. "I have discovered, my comrades, that you have not been entirely honest with me. You still put time and effort into hunting humans that have done us no harm. My request to you, as the president of this council was to leave whatever remaining living humans be. And, yet, you deliberately ignore these orders. Why?"

"Sir,"

"It was a rhetorical question. I already know the answer. You all have a grudge against humans, that I do not share, and you feel a need to share this grudge with the entire world. Human bloodshed carried out by souls is entirely unecessary and unacceptable, so I must ask you to end it again."

"Why do you defend them, Ori?" The dark-haired woman who had interviewed me jumped to her feet. "Humans are nothing but destructive creatures who -"

" - deserve none of the treatment they've earned. You believe the lies you've been told that they were a barbaric creature who would just as soon kill their friends as treat them with kindness. This is, however, untrue. I was the first soul to ever come in contact with humans here on earth, and I will be the first to tell you that they killed each other and hurt each other. But I will also be the first to tell you that they were also the most compassionate of all the creatures we've put our souls in. I feel every bit of remorse for what happened to them. And so, now I must say that enough is enough. Leave this creatures be and let them live. Otherwise, I will have you all removed from your positions, because you've obviously not earned them." He waited for a moment. "No objections? Alright then! I'll be keeping both eyes you, just keep that in mind." He turned to our little group. "I'll have you all relocated to another area in the country - any place you want - and please remember that you have friends among the souls as well as enemies." He smiled kindly and then changed back to business. "You'll be given supplies to build your own houses, schools, your own community. You and any others who might still be hiding out there in the desert," he winked. "Carver! Make sure these orders are followed through, and to my exact specifications." Carver nodded and began leading our group away.

I turned to the old man, Ori, "You don't act like a soul."

"If one lives among humans long enough, you tend to adopt some bits and pieces of their personalities."

"You didn't have to do this for us, so why did you?"

"Guilt. What is the driving force behind most kindness, my friend? I miss my friends, and more than anything, I wish they were still themselves, but they are long gone, along with the person who used to reside in this body. So, I do what they would have wanted me to do. Now go with your friend, as it is probably one of the only places you will still be accepted."

I nodded and hoped that the future Ori described was our future.

**Author's Note: I wish I could have more Ori in my story, but he's only a temporary character. So this is my last official chapter, and I will hopefully have an epilogue up tomorrow. There will be a poll for your favorite OC of mine from this story up on my profile so please vote!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Epilogue**

Living in the northwest for the past year had been a very pleasant experience as a whole. Everything Ori had promised had become reality and we now lived in our own community where humans and souls were allowed to live together. As it turns out, Ori had a lot more power than he had even shown while we were still in Arizona – power which he so happily flaunted to the rest of the council. In fact, he had passed what was called the Human Relocation Act. It stated that all humans found were to be relocated to our community in Washington, and it was, for the most part, carried out without a hitch. Our evidence for this was in our ever-growing population; our population was now up to one thousand. Democracy had even begun to wiggle its way back into human civilization. All the leaders of the little bands that existed before the Human Relocation Act were now part of a council of sorts, including Jeb.

On this chilly morning, Fords and I were walking with Iris to her daycare, where we would drop her off while we went to work doing whatever odd jobs the community required of us. I looked into his reflective eyes, he looked into mine, and we smiled because we felt safer every day that we lived here. Things had become surprisingly normal and if all the humans who used to inhabit the earth could see us, they would believe that everything was normal. Felix and Lily were expecting a baby now; the concept was being reintroduced by some; there were hospitals, schools, and normal houses.

Things still weren't completely normal – we knew and accepted that. It wasn't perfect, but for the time being, it was more than enough.

**Author's Note: The long overdue epilogue I promised – sorry. Tell me what you think, even though I know it was short. However, I always like epilogues that don't give you a set-in-stone ending.**


End file.
